


Putting The Pieces Together

by MeowchThatsRight



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Babies, Best Friends, Crimson Heads, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Hostage Situations, It's just all over the place, Miscarriage, Not too detailed, Smut, Zombie Children, Zombies, and a lot more angst, fluff if you squint, it's a mess, lots and lots of angst, oh yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-11-28 09:36:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18206720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeowchThatsRight/pseuds/MeowchThatsRight
Summary: Fate was rather cruel it seemed. Though his heart ached as if it shattered into a thousand pieces, nothing could prepare him for the heartache that was to come.





	1. Seeing Red

**Author's Note:**

> I could not get my mind off of Leon/Claire thanks to the remake.  
> However this is a good opportunity to practice my writing skills...Sorry for any mess-up!
> 
> I should also note that the timeline may be a bit odd, I tried my best researching all of it, but most of the time I came up empty handed, and realizing now it is safe to assume that vendetta and Re7 never happened in this story.
> 
> I've played 1-6, revelation, and saw only one movie (degeneration) sadly.  
>  Also I would like to point out that I am a bad writer! Don't be like the characters in this story...USE PROTECTION! (felt I needed to say that just in case <.<; lol )

**September 2013**

The definition of insanity; repeating an action over and over again expecting a different end result. That was what Leon Kennedy felt, going insane. He poured his heart and soul into this woman. He made love to her as if tomorrow would be the last. He would quite literally jump into the pits of hell had she asked. But it always ended the same. Helping her redress, her same old “This was fun Leon, see you next time.” And him just letting her walk away and pretend that everything was fine.

However, this time he couldn’t pretend. Cause everything wasn’t fine. Each time they had one of their nights of passion together, and each time she walked away, it was as if she were taking a part of him with her. It was something he could no longer bare. And hoped that somewhere deep down she felt the same.

“Stay.” He whispers as he caresses her soft skin on her back. She sighs, relishing in the touch. If there was one thing that she enjoyed most about their get togethers was the way his touch made her forget. And she hated it all the same.

“What are you expecting out of this, Leon?” She asks, peeking over her shoulder. “This has been fun, the sex has been fun, don’t ruin it with needless thoughts.” She turns to smile with her plump pink lips. And then starts redressing herself “You know I can’t give you anything more. I adore you and your handsome face, but I adore my job more.”

It stung, of course it did. All these years playing cat and mouse with this woman, he had hoped that she would eventually feel the same tiredness that he felt. No matter how much they tried there’s just no end to this world of terror that they live in. There was no ray of light where everything would slow down enough for them to enjoy each other’s company, because there’s always work the next day. What had he been expecting? I guess somewhere down the line he felt that their game of chase would come to an end and they’d be able to settle down.

“Right…” He says a bit detached.

She scoots closer to him on the bed and cups his face with her hands. “This has been fun Leon, see you next time.” With that she plants her soft pink lips to his and then walks away yet again taking another piece of his heart with her.

How long before they meet up again? He wasn’t sure. But for now, he will wallow in his self-pity. Cursing at himself for having such complicating feelings. “Damn You Ada.” And maybe a little of her, for wrapping him around her little finger. It would have been hell of a lot easier had he fell in love with Claire Redfield.

He falls into more misery at the thought of his once best friend. How was she holding up? Was she better off then him? He contemplates calling her, picking up the phone and putting down multiple times, before deciding against it. The last time he had spoke to Claire he was an ass, which ended up ending their once soaring friendship. He throws his phone blindly in the run downed room.

“How did you fuck things up so badly Kennedy?” It was tale of two survivors who found the best in each other. It was tale of a friendship that overcame the odds. It was a tale of a love that would never see the light. It was the tale of how he completely shattered his best friends’ heart.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**December 2005**

He had contacted Claire. It was about a month after the incident of Harvardville. A month since they reunited after years of silence. And was she a sight for sore eyes! It was good to see Claire again, but even better to see her someplace more normal.

It had taken him a bit to gather the nerve, more than he would like to admit, to ask her out, as a friend of course. He couldn’t fathom why he was so nervous, this was Claire, his best friend. Sure, they haven’t talked much over the years but being a government agent would do that. Still, Claire was someone he could trust. Claire was someone he could easily tell all his secrets to, because she listened. And because she genuinely cares about him. It was just who Claire is.

“So, I’d say this is someplace more normal!” She says as the waitress walks off with their order.

“I’m not so sure about that.” Leon jokes.

“What? Why?”

He leans forward as if he’s about to tell her a secret and she follows along. “Well for starters, that guy up there?” He points to an individual who slumped in his seat and who looked rather out of it. “Hasn’t moved an inch since we got here. Pretty sure he’s infected. It’s only a matter of time before we start making our grand escape.”

“Oh my god you’re right!” Claire plays along and clamps her hand over her mouth to muffle her overly exaggerated gasp. “The waitress! Pretty sure she’s the one responsible for spreading it!” To any other themselves, they would have thought the pair were a bit odd to say the least. However, for the duo, they were still copping.

“See, this place is far from normal. Right now, it’s burgers and fries but before you know it, it’s blood, guts and the walking dead and a big guy”

“In a fedora!”

“In a fedora chasing us around the small diner. And just when you think it’s over the self-destruct system activates, of course.”

“Of course.”

“But we’ll make it out just in the nick of time.” He ends with a wink. They laugh at the ludicrous of their story and almost simultaneously their laughter stops. Both stuck seeing the ghost of their past.

“It all sounds so far fetched when we speak of it.” Claire says, cutting through the silence.

“Yeah, we’ve been through hell of a lot, haven’t we?” a hell of a lot and neither one made it out without a few scars to add to their story.

“That we have. We saved so many lives in the process.” So many lives that would get to see what tomorrow held.

“And lost so many just the same.” And so many that won’t get to see the morning sky.  
It was a blessing and a curse to have been able to escape the fiery pits of hell. A blessing for they get to see what tomorrow looks like, but a curse all the same, for the ghost that occasionally haunts their dreams. The screams of those that could not be saved. The blood that no matter how hard they try won’t wash away. But the smiles of those they saved was a beacon of light through their dark and hazy days. For them it was worth all the scars that had been made.

They talked for hours it seemed neither ready to turn in. It had been a few years since the last time they were to just sit down and talk. In fact, the last time they were this comfortable with each other was a little after the incident in Raccoon City. They had spent a half a month playing pretend family with Sherry, trying their damnedest to keep the little girl a secret. The two weren’t stupid. They knew someone eventually would be after her.

_“Go and find your brother. I promise I’ll look after Sherry.”_ A broken promise that ate away at him for the longest time. That still does. It was funny to Leon that the first thing that popped in his mind when he saw Claire at Harvardville was “I’m sorry.” Somehow the words never seemed to make it out of his mouth.

“How’s Joe.” Leon decided to ask rather than opening up old wounds. Or so he thought as he sees Claire’s face turn sour.

“How do you know about Joe?” She squints her eyes playfully.

“Let’s just say someone has a very overprotective brother.” It was true. Chris had informed him of this Joe that had supposedly stole his little sisters’ heart. Though he never asked for a background check. Leon was pretty sure the brother was capable of running his own background check of the man, and had no doubt that he already has.

“Of course.” She scoffs a bit before answering. “Well… were not exactly seeing each other anymore.” She begins to rub her neck, a nervous tick that Leon had learned years back.

“I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?” The way Chris talked about it seemed the two were really into each other. Not that he was jealous or anything. If his friend was happy than he was happy. Claire deserved a little normal in her life.

“Me. I happened.” She pouts a bit and begins to twirl her straw in her cup.  
“I don’t follow.” She looks at him and he begins to worry. The pain in her eyes made him unease, and for a brief moment he wishes nothing more than to embrace her and chase whatever pain she’s feeling away.

“I uh, sometimes have these very vivid dreams. Night terrors if you will.” He felt like the wind was knocked out of him. Was Claire, his Claire, suffering from PTSD? And did anyone other than him and that jerk off Joe know? “Sometimes It’s about the Police Station. Sometimes I’m back on that damn island with Steve, and now Harvardville.” She turns to look back at him with a broken smile.

“Claire…” was all that he was able to get out.

“Anyways” She cuts in “I believe his exact words where ‘I can’t be with someone who can’t let go of the past’ So we just ended things.” She lifts her shoulder a bit to emphasize, and begins to slurp the remaining of her sweet tea.

“Claire, I’m sorry. He’s an idiot.” The Girl is traumatized. The least the prick can do is be there for her. He had halved wish that Joe were there so that he could knock some sense into him. But another part of him were glad that the man wasn’t there. Too many witnesses and not many places to hide a body.

“Is he though?” She says, breaking him out of his raging thoughts “I mean I sign myself up for this line of work. I know exactly what I’ve gotten myself into. These things should be expected. Maybe I’m the idiot in this story.” It almost hurt, no it did hurt to hear Claire berate herself.

“Claire, I can assure you, you’re not an idiot. You have a big heart. The people come first. Your compassionate, that doesn’t make you an idiot.” Leon tries to reason with her. Claire is to caring to be defined as an idiot. Joe was a dead man if Leon ever ran into him. Leon pays the bill and stands up making the chair scrap against the wooden floor.

“Come on, there’s somewhere I wanna check out.” He says pulling on his leather jacket and proceeds to drag her along.

“Where are we going!” She shouts gleefully as he drags her to the entrance of the diner. Many guests turned their heads to the happy couple. Some hiding their smiles behind their hands, others blushing on behalf of the duo and some just plain irritated. But that didn’t bother Leon one bit. He had a mission to complete. Which was making sure one Claire Redfield knew just how wonderful she truly is.

“You’ll see.” He says looking slightly over his shoulder to give her a wink.  
Half a month. That’s all it took for the ‘pretend family’ to actually feel like a family. As soon as they made out of Raccoon City the first thing they sought out was a place to crash. Which happened to be a motel that was just located on outskirts of the city of the dead. From there they traveled as far as they could on foot. Which was a lot for a couple of battered parents and a small child. Eventually they found a vehicle.

_“I don’t like this.” Leon had voiced his disdained._

_“Oh, Leon! Stop being such a boy scout. We need to get out here as soon as possible!” Sherry was their priority. The little girl had been through so much. Had been brave for them for so long. They couldn’t take away the bad things that had happened but they can sure as hell give her good things to counter it._

_“I know! It’s just…I’m a policeman Claire! I can’t go around stealing vehicles! I’m supposed to be upholding the law, not breaking them!” He huffs out crossing his arms over his chest._

_“You’re not breaking it! I am! Now stop being a baby, and help me load the car.” Luckily for them Leon had, had his wallet still and was able to get them supplies to last them for their drive up north. The car however didn’t last the trip to the original destination. But it had got them far enough from that city._

They had stayed there for no more than two weeks. But the two weeks spent, was filled with bliss. Had she stayed with Leon and Sherry, she wondered what their life would be today? Would they still be the happy ‘Pretend Family’ that they were all those years ago? Or would they have still been broken up? But this was the real world, there was no going back. Perhaps leaving them was the reason why she decided to move back to this small town. The guilt that she still carried.

“Oh my god! Is this?” Claire sits up in her seat as soon as they drive up to a rather old looking building with words that read ‘Jerry’s Arcade’ in red font. It was a bit faded but still readable.

“It is. This is where we brought Sherry to play her very first game.” Leon says smiling at the nostalgia the rushed over him.

“I remember!” It was as clear as if it were yesterday. She remembers the exact moment the girls face lit up when the characters came to life. It was also rather sad that it was the first time that she ever experienced something like that. “I can’t believe it’s still open.” Jerry’s Arcade had become somewhat of a paradise for the little family. It was somewhere they all went to vent their frustration. The Arcade had seen them at their worst and their best.

“I wonder if they still have Gunner X.” Claire says, putting her hands to her hips.

“Why? So, I can kick your ass?” Leon Laughs.

“Ha-ha very funny Kennedy, but if I remember correctly, I believe I was the one kicking your ass.”

“In your dreams Redfield.”

“Are saying I’m lying?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“Oh, bring it!”

Despite the years of being separated, it was in this moment that they realized that nothing at all has changed between them. They were still and always will be each other’s best friends.

They had spent hours trying to best the other on any game they found. They laughed until the tears were spilling from their eyes. They laughed until their sides and stomach began to hurt. It was just two friends enjoying the company of each other. At the end of their parade they cashed in their tickets to get what was supposed to be gag gifts for each other. And gave away the rest to kids who had been in awe of their stash.

“A care bear?” She says looking at the little pink bear with a rainbow on his tummy. It stuck out to him as soon as he saw the plush. Every ounce of the bear screamed Claire. He knew he had to get it for her.

“What? Don’t you see the resemblance?” He says holding it up next to her face. “Both bright and both cheerful. It’s the perfect combination” Claire is not an easy girl to make blush. But here she is blushing on a man she considers to be her one and only best friend. She laughs nervously and takes the bear from his grasp.

“Now I feel lame for not putting much thought into mine.” She says handing over a two-piece keychain. The keychains connect together like a puzzle piece, engraved on the keychains are the words ‘Best Friends’. “A little juvenile, but it’s speaks truth. You’re my best friend Leon.” His heart fluttered at the smile she gave him. That was the smile he wished to protect.

It was dark out when they decided to call it a night. The ride was quiet but it was a comfortable quiet. This was a night neither one would forget. Perhaps next time Sherry would join them in their journey down memory lane.

“I never did tell you why I became an Agent, did I?” Leon ask as they stop at a red light.

“I just assumed it was one of these ‘feels right’ moments.” Claire says, smiling at the care bear in her lap.

“Hmm…Sort of.” It was topic that he felt he needed to share with Claire. It wasn’t as if he was breaking any protocols. Not really anyways. “Back when they took Sherry, I had an option to just leave and never look back.” He gazes down at her to gauge her reaction. She didn’t look up but he knew he had her full attention. The light turns green and he begins drive again. “I wanted to. God did I want to. But the look on her little face, when they dragged her away from me. I will never forget the look of despair she made” It broke his heart when they just out right took her from him. They literally had to yank her from his grip because he wasn’t cooperating. “As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t just walk away. So, I was offered another option, which worked out for the best. This way I can continue to find that ‘world peace’, but also continue to give her that friendly face she desperately needs.” He was granted visitation rights. It was almost awful to the way it felt as if he was visiting a prisoner. He could only imagine her pain.

“Leon…I’m so sorry.” And She was. She never meant burden him with such a heavy task. She meant to stay, she did. But the thought of Chris being locked up somewhere had plagued her mind.

“She talks about you, you know?” He says turning to smile at her softly.

“She does?” Now that was something she never expected. She left in the dead of night. Waiting till she knew Sherry was fast asleep. With the aid of Leon, she was able to sneak out without notice. Her heart had sunk as she drove to the airport. And she cried for hours till the plane had landed.

“She doesn’t hate you Claire, despite what you might think.” Hate was not something that was coded into Sherry Birkin. She loves Leon and Claire. She loves them just as much as she still loves her parents despite everything. “You were her mother, even if it was just pretend.” Just as much as he was her father. He remembers Sherry waking up running down the flight of stairs, that night. She was too smart for her own good. She knew something was up, she knew that Claire had to do what she needed to do. Nevertheless she cried.

_“When she’s done, she’ll come back right? “The girl had sniffled. “And we can go back to being a family, right?” He had picked up the little girl and carried her in his arms._

_“Of course, she’ll be back. Then we can all go to the Arcade and have fun! How does that sound?” He says rubbing her back trying to calm her._

_“Yeah, I’d like that.”_ Somewhere deep down he knew things wouldn’t work out like that. No matter how optimistic he had stayed for Sherry, he knew the exact moment when they came clawing their way in to their home, that things would never be the same.

“Sometimes I think about that night I left. I wonder if I would have done things differently had I known Chris was safe.” She hadn’t seen Sherry since that night. She missed her a lot more than she would let on.

“Nope, you would have went just to be sure he was safe.”

“You’re right.” He was. She wasn’t the type to just set back and let fate take the wheel. She would have gone regardless because the gut feeling she gets. Even if said gut feeling lead her astray. “Why are you telling me all this all of sudden?”

“I wanted to show you.” He tells her. He comes to a full stop in front of her house.

“Show me what?” She leans slightly forward.

“I wanted to show you what a fool Joe is. Let go of your past? Your past defines who you are Redfield, it shows how compassionate of a person you are, and if he took his head out of his ass for one second, he would have seen how irreplaceable of women you truly are.” Her eyes widened slightly, and for a moment and Leon becomes that puzzle piece that she never realized she was missing.

“There you go making me cry.” Claire wasn’t completely sure why fate had brought her and Leon back together, but whatever the reason was, she was happy.

Just this once she was happy to let fate take the wheel.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**September 2013**

His mind was mocking him. Of course, it would conjure up the beginning of it all. A time where everything was much simpler. The innocence of their budding relationship. Claire was much happier there. Her smile was like a ray of sunshine. God, what he would give to go back to that time, just to have her give him one of her famous hugs.

Now he can’t even get her to speak to him. No matter how many times he tried calling or texting her, she would never reply. He groans and curls into a miserable ball in his rather cold bed.

Sleep. That was what he needed. And maybe a cold beer.  
Where did it all fuck up? Were his last thought before the slumber took him again.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
January 2006

It was the middle of January, that their budding relationship took a surprise turn, neither one expected. It was the day that started the tear in their friendship. As always whenever he was in town, he took it upon himself to take his best friend out. Whether it was to see a movie, drinking, or even dancing he made sure she had the best of time.  
It had always ended the same, with him dropping her off at her home and saying good night.

This time However he had somehow found his head in between her spread legs causing her to mewl and thrash about on his bed.

How did it end up like this? Innocently enough it was an accident.

After dinner at a nice restaurant, it had started to downpour over the city. In turn flooded the route to Claire’s place. Which was no big, she was always welcomed to stay with him. However, neither of them was prepared for the rain, so by the time they had got into his hotel room they were drenched to the bone. Of course, Leon more so than Claire, considering he did his best to cover her with his jacket. They laughed at how ridiculous they looked, with their wet clothes sticking to their limbs.

There was wine, there was soft music playing in the background, there were gentle sways of the hips and there was an accidental slip that caused the both of them to tumble to the floor, which erupted more laughter. There was the brush of his fingers as he slipped the damped strand of hair behind her left ear, then there were her lips that crashed into his.  
At many times they could have stopped. Like when he picked her up and pushed her onto the wall, all the while grinding his hips to hers. Or when she raised her arms up for him to pull off the wet black dress, to even when he let her unbuckle his belt and unbutton his black slacks. He could have stopped when he pushed her semi nude form onto his bed or even stopped when last piece of clothing hit the floor.

But in all honesty, he didn’t want to. Nor did she.

Her hips raised with each merciless attack he made with his tongue. And each time she would moan his name like it was a mantra spurring him on. Afterwards he’s kissing up her body nipping at her nipple in the process and finally makes his way to her swollen pink lips.

It was almost taboo for one to sleep with their best friend, and small part of him chastised himself for it. But even bigger needing part of him wanted to feel what it was like to be inside Claire Redfield. And oh, was it a feeling. He couldn’t remember the last time he had sex. Of course, he couldn’t remember the last time he had saw Ada. The woman of his affection.

The things that she could do to him. With her hands, her lips, her body. Nope! No this was about him and Claire! Why the hell was he thinking about fucking another woman when he was currently fucking his best friend. With a grunt he shifts her a bit so that he’s fucking her into the mattress. Her cries become a signal to him the she enjoys the new angle, so he continues to pound into her mercilessly, making it his sole mission for her to be completely satisfied.

“Wow” She says breathlessly.

“Yeah.” He agrees as they lay side by side.

It was when they turned in for the night, that Claire decided to break the looming silence. 

“Leon?” She asks ever so softly.

“Yeah?” Was this it? Was this the moment that she was going to end their friendship? His mind raced at the thought. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to go back to not having Claire in his life.

“You’ll still talk to me in the morning, right?” Guilt. That was what he felt. Had he done things properly he could have conveyed better that she was more than just one of his one-night stands. He scoots closer to her and wraps his arms around her frame.

“Of course, I’ll still talk to you Claire. You’re my best friend.” He kissed her hair and both feel asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the window. It was the first time in a long while that Claire had felt at peace from her own mind. And it was first time that Leon felt a piece of himself being regained.

It was just a night of two friends coming together. At least that was how it was supposed to go. But he found that sex with Claire Redfield was like a drug for him. The ‘accidental’ night had become somewhat of a habit, that would happen again, again and again.

Friends with benefits, neither willing to define it as such.

It would happen for the sake of being in town, to celebrations of a foreign country, to even just being horny. But whatever the excuse, Leon had picked up on her telltale signs for whenever she was about to pounce. And boy did she pounce!

It was an odd yet strangely pleasant feeling at how normal it felt to be with Claire. He was with her more times than not, even if he had to fly over a few states just to see her. But a turning point to their blossoming relationship takes yet another turn that no one expected.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**September 2013**

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Leon shouts as he throws a half bottle of beer to the wall, glass shattering. All this reminiscing wasn’t helping him! He should have never defiled his best friend like that. He should have left well enough alone, before things ended the way it did.

Why was he thinking about Claire anyways? It has been four years since he last saw Claire. Four years since they ended whatever it is, they had. Four years since he just stood there watching her cry, when he could have embraced her like he should have.

“Why did I lie?”

Was a question he could never answer.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**July 2006**

“Good job kiddo!” He says giving the girl a high-five. “What did I tell you? Practice makes perfect.”

“Yeah, well we’ve been going at this for a week so I was bound to pick a thing or two.” Leon had been trying to reach out to at least give Sherry some combat training. The girl was stuck until they decided to release her from her own personal hell. With luck finally on his side, permission was granted.

“You look different.” Sherry says as she sips on some water.

“Yeah, it’s called aging.” He jokes, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Har-har Leon! I meant you look happy.”

Truth was, he was happy. He hadn’t felt this alive in a long while. But this line of work would do that to you. What was it that changed? Was it because Ada had been visiting quite frequently? Or was it because Claire had moved slightly closer so that she can be near her brother?

“Careful Leon, I’m going to have to tell mom their someone else.” Ha! If only she knew. Luckily for him training with Sherry made him break out a sweat, so the blush that appeared from her off comment blended in with the rest of the redness on his face.  
Things had been going well with Ada, well as much as it can go. And things had been going good with Claire. It was almost sickening how much they keep in contact. From little text like ‘How are you doing?’ to even phone calls at night. He didn’t mind in the slightest. He loved hearing Claire talk. But furthermore, he knew that their phone calls kept the nightmares at bay.

As if summoned by his thoughts. His phone began to ring and he smiles as soon as he sees her contact on the screen.

“Hey Claire bear” A nickname she loved and hated. Sherry’s head popped up and her eyes widened with joy. All of which didn’t go unnoticed by Leon. “You’ll never guess, who I’m with right at this moment.” Sherry began to gesture wildly with her hands for Leon to hand it over. However, the broken voice on the other end of phone had him on his feet and out the door. He flinched a little, leaving Sherry like that. He’ll be sure to make it up to her.

“Claire what’s wrong?”

Jill Valentine. A close friend to the Redfield’s. But an even closer friend to Chris. Was dead. Chris is not at all taking it well. Not that he’s expected to. Jill was his friend, his lover and now she’s dead thanks to the bastard that she had taken down with her. Albert Wesker.

As soon as Claire gave the call, Leon was already making preparations to leave. He had to be there for them. He had to be there for Claire.

Claire was trying her best to stay together, she had to be for Chris's sake. Meaning Leon had to be her support. Each mournful sigh that escaped her lips, he'd make sure she knew that he was there by rubbing her back softly.

Chris couldn't handle running the wake so Claire stepped up for him. Allowing the older sibling to further drink away his sorrow. The man would drink for hours, sitting just staring begrudgingly at ceiling. His drinking habit was taking a toll on Claire. This wasn't her brother. Her brother was strong and could overcome anything, this broken man could not be her brother.

"They couldn't even find her body. How can we bury her if we don’t even have her fucking body?!" She screamed one day as she was cleaning the dishes. "What kind of cruel joke is this to bury an empty casket?" She had been bottling up her emotions for a while now, Leon was surprised it didn't happen sooner.

"Hey, hey come here." He tells her as he brings her into his embrace. Her cries are muffled by his chest.

"I don't know what to do. I've never seen Chris like this." Chris was a train wreck without his partner. He no longer had a sense of what was going on around him, and he took to alcohol for his form of comfort. The man was completely and utterly destroyed.

"Just be there for him. That's all we can do until he's ready." He tightens his hold on her, caressing her hair and laying a kiss on her head.

"Thank you for being here for me. I don't know what I would've done without you." She mummers and plants a small kiss on his collarbone.

"You don't have to thank me, I'll always be here for you." A promise that he had no idea would be broken.

That night he had for the first time witnessed one of her night terrors.

It was a scream that had woken him up. She was thrashing around so badly in bed, the she had clipped him on the chin with her elbow. He would try calling out to her to even trying to hold her still. But she just wouldn’t wake up. She kept crying for help and giving these god-awful moans as if she were in pain. Leon’s heart sunk.

“SHUT UP ALREADY!” An angry cry came from the other room. Something smashes against the wall and Leon grimace. He was glad he made trip up here. He couldn’t imagine the emotional pain she would had have to endure from her own brother.

“I’m sorry…” She had awoken when the loud smash hit the wall. Her broken apology set him ablaze. Chris was angry, he got that. He’s mourning. That doesn’t mean the man has the right to act like a total ass, especially to his sister whom herself needs comfort.

“Claire, stop. You have nothing to apologize for.” She turns away trying to hide her face from him. He tries to bring her back into his embrace but she begins to pull herself further from him. “If anything, that jerk should be the one apologizing to you.” He sits up and runs his hand up and down her arm.

“I’m broken.” She cries into the cover.

If there was a time to hate Chris Redfield, it would be in this moment.

He sighs, trying to bottle his rage for the drunken idiot. And slides back down and embraces his best friend. He kisses her hair, then lays his head on top of hers to where their cheeks touch.

“Even the best of us are little broken Claire.”

“But not all of us are haunted by it constantly.”

“I don’t know about that.” He tells her and tightens his grip. “I still see ghost.” She shifts out of his embrace and turns to look at him with surprise.

“You do?”

“All the time.” He nods his head.

“How do you deal with it?” She stares intently into his eyes. He reaches up to tuck her hair behind her ear and brings her head to rest on his chest. She closes her eyes at the warmth radiating from him and inhales, somehow feeling that much better.

“Sometimes I just do whatever I can to get my mind off them. Even if it means doing little chores like cleaning or cooking. But when it’s at its worse, I usually just step outside. It helps me feel grounded.” Many times, he had found himself just walking aimlessly through parks and such. Even at odd hours. However, he realized he’d been doing that a lot less these days.

“Recently? Talking to you.” She looks up at him with her wide blue eyes. And for brief moment she looks to his lips. He kisses her.

It was that night that he made love, true love to Claire Redfield. And it was as the both of them had found a matching piece.

"Chris come on no more alcohol, why don't you go take a walk? Clear your head a bit." Chris's turmoil was taking a toll on Claire. Though she would never voice it. Despite how much of an asshole he was being, he was still her brother.

Chris hadn't exactly been keeping up with the bills ever since the loss of Jill. It was for that reason the younger Redfield had found herself housing her brother. And it took a large amount of control for Leon to bite his tongue. It wasn't fair that Jill had go in that way, it wasn't fair that Chris has to suffer the after effects. But it also wasn't fair for Claire to look after her older brother. But he couldn't exactly voice his own opinion, they were both still mourning the loss of a friend and Claire a brother.

For now, he would keep out of it by staying in Claire's room.

"No." Chris mutters slightly pushing his sister away.

"Chris come on, you can't sit here all day and drink!" Her pleads land on deaf ears. Leon becomes a bit anxious, his leg bouncing out of nerves.

"No! No! No! I said no! Get off of me dammit!" The rise of Chris's voice sprung Leon to his feet.

"Why don't you just fuck off! God I'm so sick and tired of you acting like you're my goddamn mother!" Chris seethed in his anger. He towered over Claire as if to scare her, but this was Claire and she had had about enough of this bullshit!

"Hey!" Leon shouted hopping to get the older sibling’s attention. He didn't care for what Chris had become, nor did care for the lack of respect he seemed to give Claire these days.

"...Yeah, well maybe I wouldn't have to act like one if you just sobered up a bit!" Her voice had wavered slightly.

"I can act however the fuck I want!" He flips the table in his tantrum and kicks the chair in the process.

"Yeah well maybe not under my roof, let's not forget I took you in because you couldn’t keep up with you bills! You're in my house and I'm tired of seeing you as a lousy drunk!"

"You don't understand. How could you? You don't have a fucking clue what's it's like to lose a partner, a friend." But she does. And it was sad seeing how self-absorbed he had become when he was drunk.

"Jill was my friend too..." she sniffles. Leon gives a heavy sigh and runs hand on her arm. She smiles slightly at his gesture and walks over to her brother to put her hands on his big shoulders. "You can get through this Chris, we got through mom and dad’s deaths, we can get through this too." Words that were meant for comfort only rattled him even more.

"Fuck you!" He shoves her harshly causing her to fall back, only for Leon to catch her. This was it. He has had enough of this asshole, and wasn't about to just let him walk away. Only he does.

"Just let him go." Claire says weakly. The front door slams shut. It was the roar of the engine and the screeching of tires that alerts them that Chris has left.

"I need to clean this mess." She sighs. Leon helps her clean what could be cleaned. It was fortunate that nothing had been too damaged during Chris's rampage. After he helps Claire to bed, who just needed rest, he sits at the edge and plays with her hair until she feels sleepy.

"I'm gonna go get your groceries taken care of, you gonna be ok by yourself?" She gives a content sigh and smiles.

"Yeah, thank you for being amazing." She mummers sleepily.

"I told you, you have to thank me for being here for you Claire." He kisses her forehead and makes his way towards the door.

It only took him fifteen minutes to find Chris's Hummer in front Sara's Pub.

"Typical." He said with as much disdain he could muster. Of course, he would be here. "So, you can't get drunk at home so you decide to get drunk at a bar? For fucks sake Redfield." It didn't take him long to find the man sitting at the bar with his head hanging low.

"How's Claire?" He asks not even bothering to look up.

"How do you think she is? She's hurt, confused and over all tired. What the hell was that Redfield?" That wasn't the Chris Redfield he knew. The Chris Redfield he knew would have never hurt his sister like he had.

"I don't know, I don't know what came over me." His voice cracked. It was good to see that at least some of the old Chris was still there.

"Look I get it. You're mourning the loss of a friend. But you need to stop taking it out of your loved ones. Otherwise sooner or later you're gonna lose them too." He was right, and oh how Chris hated he was right.

"Now come on. Thanks to you we have to do some actual grocery shopping." Claire's pantry and fridge were always stoked. There was no need for shopping, however it was the only thing the he could come up with at the time to go looking for this buffoon.

The plan had been to grab just enough things to avoid suspicion, but when Chris started grabbing things such as a table and chairs to replace the 'broken' ones that he had caused, he couldn't help but to lend a hand. Every aisle they went down Leon made sure to point out the most useless crap claiming that it was destroyed during his outburst. To which he would get an "oh right."

At one-point Leon began to feel bad about trolling the poor man. But then he would remember how hurt Claire was and attack him with a vengeance, pointing out even more absurd things he could find. It was just a matter of keeping his laughter to a minimum, so, he wouldn't alarm the older man.

"Don't you think you've had enough of that for today? Why not try something a little less toxic, like soda or something." Leon had told the man at one point when they passed the alcohol. Chris was a work in progress it seemed.

By the time they were done shopping they had two baskets full of mostly crap. And Leon couldn't help but laugh out as soon as the big guy was out of earshot. God Claire was going to kill him, but it would be worth it.

"You let him buy all this crap?" She says picking up a random object not even knowing what the hell it's used for.

"I thought it was a good lesson to learn." He says, desperately trying to hold in his laughter.

"Leon, a smack on the head or even a punch to the face is lessoned learned, but this?" She gestures widely at all the bags. "How much did all this cost?!" Frankly she was scared to know.

"But then he might have punched back, and anyways it only costed him $677.65." Leon says digging at random through one of the bags.

"I know your fast enough to dodge him. Besides he's too drunk and slow and you know that!" She smacks his arm, causing a few laughs to erupt. "I can't believe you let him spend that much money. What were you thinking?!" She screeches.

"It was his idea I only intervened a little." Leon mockingly pouts.

"A little huh? Well maybe you can intervene your way to return all this stuff."

"Don't you at least want to see if you could use any of this?"

"What use could I possibly have for this Leon." Leon burst out laughing no longer able to contain it all.

"I honestly didn't think he would say yes to that one!" He says in between his fits of laughter. Leon’s laugh was so infectious that Claire ended up joining in. They laughed even harder when Chris had came by to see what the hell they were laughing at. To which she holds up the drinking bird to her brothers confused face.

"Oh. Hey I remember having one of those as a kid. Where did you get that?" They laughed again. It was a joke that would run on between the two, a joke that only they would understand.

It was in this crazy moment of laughter where Claire realizes that she was in love with her best friend Leon Scott Kennedy. But like all good things, this too would come to end, before it even began.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**September 2013**

"I can't do this anymore." His broken whisper echoed through his rundown room. He caresses the compact with a butterfly engraved on it. "I can't do this anymore." He repeats.

That was what she had told him when they had ended it, wasn't it? The words that had shattered his world. His head began to spin and he felt sick to his stomach. Realization was hitting him hard.

All this time playing cat and mouse with Ada, he never once realized how he had played the same game with Claire. Except in Claire's story she was that cat and he was the mouse. Had he been just as cruel toying with her emotions?

He cries out rolling off the bed. Looking for the phone he had thrown.

"Please....please..." please what? What was it that he was looking for? A beam of light hits him in the eyes that causes him to still.

What was it that he was looking for?

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**November 2009**

"You still have it?" Claire reached out and touched the little puzzle piece charm that hung off his keyring.

"Of course! My best friend gave it to me." The puzzle piece had somewhat become a good luck charm over the years. It brought him and Claire together. It had brought him closer to Sherry again, whom was now in special training to become full-fledged agent for the government. Things were increasingly looking good and he owed it all to his good luck charm. "Don’t tell me you lost yours?" He glares playfully at her.

She hums as if to ponder and then pulls her puzzle from within her shirt. She didn't care much for the keyring so she had turned it into something she could wear, a necklace. "Also still have Larry the Care Bear. He's tucked in nicely on the bed, he says hi by the way."

"Sleep with him, much do you?" He says with a mischievous glint to his eyes.

"Oh definitely! Especially when I'm lonely. " she tilts her head to the side to expose her neck. That was the signal.

Leon sighs dramatically. "I suppose I need to take care of that then." It wasn't long before they were making out feverishly in his car in front of her house, like a couple of horny teenagers.

"We should really take this inside." She says breathily. Meanwhile his deft hands found its way to her breast, rubbing ever so slightly and eliciting a moan from her.

"Yeah we should." He agrees as his other hand lands on her ass.

She begins to rock her hips back and forth on him making him moan out. Taking off clothes in a car was a lot harder than they anticipated. Especially when they tried peeling off Claire's jacket and ended up hitting the car horn.

"You know, your right we should take this inside." Leon laughed.

"Oh God please! I think the whole neighborhood knows what we've been up to. " she covers her eyes with both of her hands.

"Well not everyone. I'm sure Mrs. White hasn't a clue." He slaps her bottom playfully.

"True, damn this neighborhood for not harboring nothing but old people!"

They didn't make it past the living room. Which was fine. The carpet was pushed and there were enough blankets and pillows to keep them all warm and comfy. They lay sprawled out on the floor, with Claire resting her head on his bare chest and Leon playing with her hair.

"Leon...there's something I want to ask you, but I'm not sure how you'll take it." She slightly moves her head so that she staring at him. His hand stills, and his heart begins to race for a different reason.

"It's just we've been at this for four years now, give or take." Please.

"Do you even see this going anywhere?" Please, say something.

"Do you even want this to go anywhere?" He couldn't even make eye contact with her.

"You don't do you?" She moves off of him. She stares at him trying to look for a sign any sign that he was willing jump in this with her. But there was no sign. And her heart shattered. Four years. She gave him four years in hope that he would feel a single ounce of what she felt for him. She bites her lip and hangs her head to hide the tears the threaten to spill.

"Claire..." finally able to find his voice.

"Damn I really thought this night was going to end differently. " she hurries to dress herself.

"Claire..." Leon tries again himself redressing with haste.

"I'm sorry I....I forgot to check something." She tells him and heads for her room.

"Claire wait!" He grabs her arm stopping her before she could get away.

"I'm not sure I can do this anymore.” She looks at him, and he can see the hurt clear in her eyes. “This on and off relationship, can you even call it that?" The wavering of her voice tells him she's crying. And he hates the fact that he was cause of her tears. "The thing is Leon, the more time I spend with you, the more I wish that you would just stay...that more I wish that I was enough for you." Claire wasn't blind or stupid. She knew of his affection for Ada. But somewhere down the line she felt that they had grown closer together, she could have sworn that they were on the same page.

"I love you Leon. But I need someone, no I deserve someone who's willing to love me back. Do you love me Leon?" Yes. He wanted to tell her yes.

"I... I don't know." And he left her with her tears. And a part of himself.

He couldn't feel anything. All he wanted was to feel something. Something that would ground him. What did he do? The only thing he could think. He found Ada. Surely, she would be the one to make him feel again.

"What is it that you want Leon?" Her breath tickles his ear.

" I want to feel... something" And so, she made him feel and made him forget. Again, and again and again. She made him forget about the sound Claire made when he touched her just right. She made him forget about the mewls Claire made when she was close, or the way her nails dug into his back when he hit that spot deep within her.

"I can't." He says brokenly.

"Ok. I'll bite, Can't what handsome?" Ada says as she continues to swirl her hips just the way he likes it.

"I can't love." He wanted to love Claire so bad. He wanted to… he just couldn't find it in himself.

"Hmm..." Ada hums. "That's the secret, no one can." No one can love? Was that why he was incapable of it? No, that’s not right. Claire could love. She told him that. And he loved Ada...hadn't he?

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**June 2011**

It was a phone call from Chris that had his heart drop. Claire had been caught in another unfortunate incident. He should have been there with her. God how he wished he had been there.

"I'm on my way." He’d be there for her now, of course he would, she was his best friend. Best friend who wasn't speaking to him. One year and seven months. His heart still ached at the memory of her broken sobs as he had walked away.

"Look, I don't Know what went on between you two, nor do I think I want to know." He knew. He was just a good man not to say anything. "But right now, she needs space. She doesn't need needless drama." It was a polite way of him saying fuck off. Which hurt more than he ever thought would. Great now he was needless drama. " I just felt you needed to know the situation."

"Understood." It was an asshole move. Hanging up right away. But at the time he really didn't give a fuck. All he wanted was to see Claire. And he was being politely told to fuck off. None other than by her brother Chris Redfield.

What did he do afterwards? Well, whatever got his mind off of Claire. Which had turned into fucking Ada in every angle possible.

"I would ask what has gotten into you, but I really don’t care. Not if you keep me that fulfilled." The sheets slide off her form as she gets up scavenging for her clothes and he helps her redress.

"Well handsome, this has been fun. See you next time." She kisses him on the lips before she exits out his window. Why she never uses the door was beyond him.

He could do this. In time he knows he can ease the pain in his very battered heart. He will forget Claire Redfield.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**September 2013**

How could he do that to Claire? It was one thing for him to be in a sticky situation with Ada, but for him to completely do the same thing to Claire.

He was furious with himself!

He raced around looking for that damn light that kept hitting him in the face! Finally, there stuck between the blinds of the window was the source of his current annoyance. Only as soon as he grabbed it, he felt nothing but despair.

"What have I done?" There in his palms lay the puzzle piece, his ‘once’ good luck charm his ‘once’ best friend had given him. "I'm such an idiot." What was it that he had told Claire that night at the arcade?

"If he had taken his head out of his ass, he would have seen what an irreplaceable woman you truly are."

Fuck. He was Joe except worse! Fuck he was also Ada! He screams in agony. Why was his mind turning against him like this? Why couldn’t everything just shut the HELL up? And why after so many goddamn years, did he finally realize, that he Leon Kennedy was in love with his best friend Claire Redfield.

“dammit…”

Fate was rather cruel it seemed. Though his heart ached as if it shattered into a thousand pieces, nothing could prepare him for the heartache that was to come. The hatred that he would have for none other than himself.


	2. The Beaten And The Damned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a moment it was as if they saw their younger selves that were just trying to make brighter future for a little girl, and just like that the pieces finally all connect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible trigger warning: If you are triggered with children turning into zombies, this chapter is not for you.  
> I honestly wanted to start getting to the fluff however the darker part of my mind didn't... Sorry in advance! :D  
> And as always I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> Also, I don't know how use ao3...so the text that were supposed to be in italic is now not...sorry about that! I will try to learn.

**October 2014**

Loathe, a feeling of dislike or disgust of something or someone. That described exactly what Leon Kennedy felt for himself. He had previously thought he was a well put together sort of guy. That he had a well-balanced head on his shoulders, but it wasn’t till recently that it was brought to the light that he wasn’t well balanced and not everything was as it seemed. He wasn’t the ‘cool’ guy that he had thought he was and he was most definitely not the fucking hero that everyone claimed.

A failure was more accurate in his book.

And he was a pathetic excuse of a man that no longer could face his once best friend, he was not worthy of her love. The disdain he had for himself only grew stronger with the incident at the private school.

_A rescue mission. Simple as that._

_It was a personal request from the president himself. Word had gotten out about a hostage situation involving the young children at Rosewood Elementary. It was dire situation that needed to be contained. Only it got worse when news of B.O.W’s were in use._

_“Wait, you going in alone?” Chris asked, shock clear on his face. The B.S.A.A had gotten word about the B.O.W.’s and were currently waiting for the OK to clean up._

_“They want it to be as discreet as possible. No need to make this mess bigger than it already is.” And had he known what horrors awaits beyond the gates of hell, he would have gladly accepted the help._

_“I don’t think that’s a good idea Leon.” Chris tells him, as he shifts on his feet a bit. “At least take her, she’s quick on her feet and can be more discreet than most.” He points his head towards Jill, who readily agreed._

_“I can watch your back, you won’t even know I’m there.” Leon had no doubt that Jill Valentine could hold her own. Hell, she might have even made this mission helluva lot easier, but it was mandatory that he was to go in alone. The life of the president’s nephew was at stake._

_“I appreciate the concern, but I have to do this on my own.”_

Alone. He has never felt more alone then this moment. He laid curled up on his bed in the cold dark hotel room. His limbs ached from having not moving in such a long time. How long has it been since that day? Two? A week? Time was blur for him. He wasn’t even sure the last time he had properly ate something. And oh, how he was tired. Tired of this life of hell that never seems to get any better. Where was this silver lining?

_“You’re here to save us Mr. Kennedy?”_

His eyes squeeze shut at the little voices that have yet to leave his mind. He grips his head and cries out in further frustration as he remembers the hopeful looks that played on their young eyes.

 _“You bet! But I need to go take care of couple bad men first. Stay here and I promise, I’ll come back for you all. We’ll get out of this mess together.”_ Another broken promise that he can’t seem to keep.

“Just stop…Please.” In his delusion he feels arms wrap around him and a kiss being placed on his head. Is this what it feels like to go mad? To be stuck in his own mind and hearing the voices of the deceased? To conjure up the comfort that he so desperately needs?

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She groaned in annoyance at the sun that seeped in through her windows. Normally it was welcomed for the sun to kiss her skin, however today was not one of those days. Today was a day that Claire Redfield had found herself hungover.

She groaned a little as she sat up with her hand to her face. God! Why did she drink so much last night? She had just meant to show up just for a bit at the company party, but when she ran into Joe, as in Joe; the one who had broken up with her all those years ago, she couldn’t help but drink away her annoyance.

Joe had been rather persistent that he was a ‘changed man’ and deserved another chance. Which gave Claire a rather big headache. She had done her best to avoid him for the rest of the night, but when he became a little too handsy she had no choice but to break his nose. And after, she had just said ‘fuck it’ and went for the hard stuff.

She vaguely remembers getting back to her place. She was going to have to send Yumi a big fucking thank you and maybe some of those European chocolates that she likes so much, for getting her sorry ass home.

She picks up her phone to send the appreciation to Yumi and realizes that in her drunken state she had forgotten to plug it in. She groans out in frustration and glares at the offending object in her hand. Today was already not going so great. With a defeated sigh she gets up and starts her day.

After showering she heads to her fridge to see what she can make, she clicks her tongue in annoyance when she realizes that she hadn’t been keeping up with her groceries. If Chris were here, he would be disappointed on his little sisters living situation. She sighs yet again in annoyance and proceeds to pull out a pen and paper from one of the kitchen drawers and starts making a list.

Even with the pounding in her head, it took her no time at all to get the groceries that she needed. She waited in a rather large line to check out when she overheard the two elderly women in front of her. Needless to say, their conversation had piqued her interest.

“Can you believe it? Taking children as hostage?”

“What has this world come to?”

Those poor children. Claire couldn’t even begin to imagine the horrors the kids where enduring. What was the purpose even? Her rage began to boil at the senseless crime these individuals were committing against the innocent lives.

When she had finally returned to her car, she realized how low on gas she was and mentally kicked herself. “You are doing great today Claire.” She spits out. When she gets home, she was going to crawl into bed and sleep until next morning, she decided. Only she didn’t account for finding out that the B.S.A.A where currently involved with the situation at the school and that they were blocking off all roads near Rosewood Elementary, making sure no could get in or out.

“The B.S.A.A are involved?” She says in disbelief as she watches in horror, the news feed from the gas station. If the B.S.A.A were involved that means that there were B.O.W’s. “Oh god!” She quickly paid and rushed out to her car. The chances of Chris being involved was high. Whatever the case was she needed to find out and quickly. She couldn’t fathom why her stomach felt as if it dropped, but she knew something just wasn’t right.

When she had got to her driveway, not even bothering about the groceries in the back, she went straight inside and to her phone booting it on. “Come on, come on” She chanted as if it would make it boot it any faster. When her phone finally logged on, she notices she had ten missed calls from Chris and eight from Jill and whole lot of unread text messages that ranged from:

“Answer ur phone goddammit!” Which had been from Chris.

“Hey sweetie, call me when you get the chance.” and other that was from Jill.

When she gets to her call log, her phone begins to rings revealing it to be another call from Chris. She slides her thumb across the screen to accept and almost immediately winces when his angry voice roars out from the other end.

“Where the HELL have you been?!”

“I’m sorry! My phone was dead and I was out getting groceries. What the hell happened?” After cooling off a bit Chris tells her about the situation. About the kids being held hostage and about those same cruel men who administered the virus to the school.

“There was a lot of casualties Claire. A lot of children won’t make it home today. And a lot of parents who’ll have to bury their young.” She could hear the emotions in his voice and she couldn’t help the way her heart ached for him.

“I’m so sorry Chris.” This was revolting. Things like this should never happen yet it always does. She hated the hellish world that they lived in. and wished more than anything that she could give it the peace that it so desperately wants.

“You don’t need to worry about me. This isn’t why I called.”

For whatever reason her blood went ice cold. And she knew that whatever Chris was about to tell her would most likely shatter her completely.

“They sent him in Claire. Leon. He’s not taking it well.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another shot rang out through the eerie silence. Another little body added to his tally of remorse. Leon felt that with each round he had put into these small Zombified children, he lost a bit of himself with them. They will pay for what they have done, even if it’s not by his own hands.

“I thought I said I needed to do this alone?” He called out to the figure approaching him from behind. He smirked a bit when Jill stepped out from within the shadows.

“Yeah well a friendly face in dark times is welcomed is it not?” Truth was, she and Chris came to a silent agreement that she should go ahead and follow with their original plan, of giving Leon some support. Even if it meant being his shadow.

He shakes his head in amusement at the overprotective duo. “I won’t argue with that. Come on.”

Rosewood Elementary was becoming somewhat of a grim reminder of Raccoon City if not worse. The halls were littered with blood trails and bodies. It was sickening to see the children and teachers in such a state. They deserved so much more than being someone's pawn in their sick twisted game.

“This is terrible. I mean it usually is. But why harm children?” The most innocent of the world, who can hardly defend for themselves.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s people like them that are the true monsters here.” Leon says with clenched teeth, as he again releases another round into a zombie child.

“Compare to this?” She dodges a zombie as it tried to grab on. “I say that’s accurate.” She kneels down to the zombie she subdued and tries to imagine the face whom it once belonged to. This had to stop. One way or another Jill was sure that they would put an end to acts like these. She was sure that one day they will.

The men in charge were not hard to tack down at all. The duo was not very bright it seemed. Their plane misshaped when the virus was administered to the faculty and children of the school. A bluff. It was just supposed to be a bluff, but when it turned out to be the real stuff things got out of their control.

“We just wanted our jobs back!” one of the men cried as he began to turn into a grotesque creature. Fired from the government, bringing dishonor to the family was not an option for these two. But how was taking Peter Matthews, the president’s nephew as a hostage, a sound plan? No one really understood.

It had taken quite some time for Leon and Jill to stop newly evolved monster, but when it was finally done, the man who was left readily handed over the boy and willingly put his hands out to be cuffed.

“I don’t care anymore, just get me the FUCK out of here!” He cried pathetically. It took all of Leon’s self-control not to beat the man into a pulp. However, he had no control over Jill, so when she popped him in the face causing the man to cry out in immense pain, he couldn’t help but smirk. “Hurst said it would be easy!” The man continued to cry out as he held his nose.

“You ok?” Leon asked Peter as he knelt down and ruffled the kid’s curly hair.

The kid sniffled and then flung himself to Leon. “I WANNA GO HOME!” He cried unable to contained it all anymore. Leon did his best to sooth the kid. He wasn’t a father, not officially, but he remembered whenever Sherry was younger and how she seemed to calm down whenever he rubbed her back.

_The girls cry rang out in the dark, alerting the two. Sherry must have had another nightmare. It didn't happen too often but when it did, she was always hysterical afterwards. Leon and Claire would take turns comforting the girl._

_Tonight, was Leon’s._

_“Hey, hey everything's ok. You're safe. Nothing's going to get you.” He tells her softly as he sat on the side of her bed._

_She flings herself to Leon, wrapping her small arms around him. “I dreamt that you and Claire weren't here! I dreamt that I was alone, and couldn't find you both!” Her grip tightens a bit and she continue to cry. Leon could feel the poor girls frame shake with each sob that she let out._

_He sighs and tightens his embrace as well and softly begins to rub her back. “Hey Kiddo, you don’t need to worry about that. Claire and I aren't going anywhere. We’ll always be here for you.” A promise that had tried so damn hard to keep._

“Yeah I don’t blame you buddy.” His hand softly runs up and down. Miraculously it worked! Peter’s cries calmed down and was replaced with sniffles and hiccups. Jill smiled at the heartwarming scene all the while keeping her boot on the man whose nose was bleeding profusely. “Do you mind taking him back with you?” Leon asks, looking up to her.

“I don’t. But what about you?” She begins to roughly pick up the man. And opens up her free hand for Peter to grasp.

“There’s a class full of survivors. I promised to come back for them.” He tells her picking up his Matilda that had scattered to the ground during their fight with that ugly beast. There was no way in hell that he was just going to abandon them.

But in the end, he did.

When he had reached the hall to their classroom. He felt sick to his stomach. It was quiet. But of course, it was quiet. They were after all playing the quiet game. However, when he saw that the door was cracked open, he was filled with immense dread. Inside the classroom was a horror he had yet discovered.

“Leon?”

“Oh god.”

“Hey, Leon.”

“He’s in shock.” Was he? He couldn’t make out who the voices belonged to. Everything seemed fuzzy and faraway. He fumbles something between his thumb and finger but can’t recall what it is. What had he been doing up to this point? For a moment he couldn’t even remember just that, but when he closed his eyes briefly, it all came flooding back.

“Leon listen to me, were going to get you out of here ok?” Chris, he realized. He slightly looks over and notes that Jill was the other voice he couldn’t recognize.

“I was fortunate.” He says a voice so soft that Chris couldn’t understand. “I was fortunate.” He repeats a tad louder. He looks down staring at the little body in his lap. “I had just enough rounds to put into their tiny heads.” His voice cracks at the end.

_“You promised you would get us all out Mr. Kennedy…”_

He squeezes his eyes shut and chunks the object in his hand across the room. He was fortunate that he had just six rounds left after the fight with the big beast guy! He was fortunate that all six children had stayed in the room to wait for him! And he was most fortunate that one of the children, Millie had stayed conscious enough until his return. She was the one in his lap. And she was the last one he put down.

Oh, he was fortunate alright. To survive this hell.

He grasps onto the hand that was placed over his aching heart, and continue to sob mournfully.

His mission was dubbed as a ‘success’ from the president. For him however, this was far from a success. Too many lives were lost in this senseless act.

“Sleep, I’ll be right here…I’m not going anywhere.” Was the voice his mind conjured up. Should he sleep? Would he wake up from this nightmare? He wasn’t sure why his delusions were comforting, but it was welcomed. Maybe it was right. Sleep. He just needed a good rest.

_Claire was out her door and, on her Harley, as soon as she was off the phone with Chris. Groceries be damned. He had given her Leon’s whereabout. However, her dumb luck for the day had progressed when she couldn’t get a plane ticket right away. But things slightly looked up when she was able to trade her bike for a ticket that was to take off in few hours._

_The man she had traded with looked at her as if she were the dumbest chick on the planet but she couldn’t care less. Leon was her main priority. When her plane landed, and within half an hour later she found herself at the front desk of the hotel._

_“How long will you be staying?” The clerk asked not even bothering to look up at her._

_“Oh uh, I’m actually here to visit someone, Leon Kennedy?” She gives the clerk a cheeky smile. “Where friends.” It almost pained her to say that. She and Leon haven’t spoken in five years…would he even want to see her?_

_“Name? “The clerk says a little annoyed. Which her off putting attitude was starting to get on Claire’s nerves._

_“Leon Kennedy? I just told you…” Claire says, trying to hold back her agitation._

_“Your name sweetheart.” The clerk says, after clicking her tongue in annoyance and rolling her eyes._

_“Claire Redfield.” She says with clenched teeth. She was this close to saying ‘fuck it’ and just climb up his window or something._

_“Well aren’t you lucky” This catches Claire attention. “You are the only one that’s allowed to visit.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“He only has your name down for visitation.”_

_Five years of not communicating with him. Five years of pretending she never once received his phone calls or text. Five fucking years and he was still waiting for her. The guilt that had settled in her gut was overwhelming. She cried in the elevator just to get it out of her system. She needed to be strong for Leon. She needed to be there for him like he was always there for her._

_When she opened the door, she was met with darkness. The only light was from one of the lamps in the living area. When he was nowhere to be seen she walked over to the room and slowly opened the door. The scene before her shattered her heart and she had to swallow the lump in her throat._

_Leon laid curled up on the bed gripping tightly to his head. And was whimpering “Just stop…Please.” She had the sense of removing her boots and jacket before she joined him on the bed. Ever so carefully she wrapped her arm around him and laid a soft kiss to his head._

_“I was fortunate.” He kept repeating. She ran her hand to his heart and his own grasped hers desperately. She held onto him tightly just as desperate trying with all her might to keep her sobs to a minimum. It hurt to see Leon so broken. He was always so strong._

_“Sleep, I’ll be right here…I’m not going anywhere. “She tells him and kisses him once more. For a moment she’s unsure if he’s heard her, but when she hears his soft breathing a few moments later, she knows that he’s fast asleep._

_“This time I’ll be here for you Leon.” A promise that she will keep no matter what._

It was the soothing feeling of his face being caressed that woke him up. His eye slit open ever so slightly blinking away the blurriness that had settled over them. When her face come to view, his breath hitches and his vision begins to blur yet again for a completely different reason.

“You’re here.” He says in almost disbelief.

“I’m here.” Her own voice raw with emotion.

Simultaneously, they move in closer. She cradles him in her arms and smoothed his hair down while kissing his forehead. His frame begins to shakes as another fit of sobs runs through him. He was almost ashamed to let Claire see him in such a state, but this was Claire. She more than anyone understands.

“I killed them.” He cries miserably against her chest.

“That wasn't your doing.” She runs her free hand up and down his back.

“It is...I was the one who put a bullet in their heads.” She whimpers and pulls him as close as possible. And he clings to her as if she were his lifeline.

“You listen to me Leon Kennedy” She breaths in and out to regain control of her wild emotions. “You are NOT responsible for those children’s death.” He looks up at her with broken eyes and she cups his face. “Those men? They're the real monsters in this story.” Her thumbs wipe away the tears from under his red puffy eyes. “Not you, you can never be as monstrous as men like them.” His mouth begins to quiver and he shuts his eyes tightly at a fail attempt to stop his never-ending tears.

“We’ll get through this. I promise you.” She holds him against her chest and begins to hum an old tune. It was a tune that both were familiar with, a tune that they hadn't heard for sixteen years. A tune that they both orchestrated for Sherry at an attempt to gain a smile from the young girl whenever she was mad at them.

_A puppy. She wanted a puppy. It wasn’t like she was asking for a million dollars! Or a new house! Or whatever else rich people asked for. She just wanted a puppy, so she could have a companion that will follow her wherever she went. But when Mean Claire and Dumb Leon said no, and left no room for argument, she got mad and stalked off, making sure to slam her door to show how angry she was._

_But why was she crying in the corner of her room? It wasn’t really because they said no about the puppy. It was more of the fact that she was ashamed on how she acted. “I hate you both!” She had yelled to them before she came up here to hideaway._

_She didn't hate them. She could never hate Claire and Leon, so why did she yell such things? Did she mess things up? Where they going to leave her now? Was she going to be all alone because she disrespected them?_

_There was a soft knock on the door that made her sink further into her arms that were hugging her knees._

_“Sherry? It’s me Claire” Her voice was small and unsure. Was this the right way to approach an emotional child? Leon gripped her shoulder in reassurance. “Leon’s here too.” She says lamely._

_They hadn't meant for the argument to get out of hand. When Sherry asked it was obvious the answer would be no, but when the child persisted over and over Claire snapped which in turn made Sherry snap which made Leon snap._

_When the word “I hate you both!” left her mouth, it was like a slap to the face, or punch to the gut. The both of them just stood there in silence, pain clear on their faces. “What do we do?” Claire had asked slightly panicked._

_“I... I don't know.” They both looked at each other with worry in their eyes and raced up stairs to try to mend things._

_“Can we talk?” Claire asked as she lays her head against the closed door._

_“Go away!” the young girl cries out miserably._

_“Sherry, please open the door.” Claire pleaded. Her hand touched the doorknob, she could just turn it and the door would open, but that would be breaking further trust._

_“NO!” Was Sherry’s muffled cry._

_Claire sighed and sat with her legs crossed, she motioned for Leon to do the same and he laughed a bit before he followed. “Fine, then where just going to have to sit here until you come out.”_

_“I’m never coming out!” Was she crazy? How was she ever going to face them again?_

_“Eventually you're gonna get hungry.” She looked to Leon in hope of him catching on, which he did almost instantly._

_“Thirsty.”_

_“Possibly have to use the bathroom.” Claire and Leon smiled at each other._

_“No, I’m never ever coming out!” She was so embarrassed with herself. Why were they trying to get her out anyways? Weren't they mad at her?_

_“But who would I tell all my jokes too?”_

_“You can tell them to Leon!” Leon snorted and Claire gave him a playful glare._

_Claire loved a good joke. Most of the time they were corny… a little too corny for Leon’s taste, but Sherry loved them. “He doesn't laugh at them like you do!” She exclaims and continues to shove Leon's shoulder playfully._

_“Then tell them to the air!” This caused a fit of laughter from them both which caused Sherry to giggle a bit as well._

_“Who would I watch cartoons with?” Leon asked and Claire snickered. Claire had on multiple occasions caught the duo watching cartoons in the morning, it was a ritual that they both fell into. To Claire, it was oddly cute to see a small child and a grown man laughing their assess off at something as silly as bugs bunny even if she herself didn't understand the hype._

_“Claire has eyes. Watch them with her.” Claire began to shake her head profusely._

_“Yeah but she doesn't appreciate them like you do.” He says with a huge smile on his face and shoves her playfully, which cause her to giggle._

_“Then watch them by yourself!” Sherry laughed. It was progress. The mood was lighting just that much._

_“Please Sher...Come out.” Claire sighs as she lays her open palm on the door._

_“Don’t leave us behind.” Leon added on with a sad smile._

_Claire perks up as she remembers something. “Tell you what. You know how you asked if I could create you a tune, something that could be just for us? Something that only we would understand? I got it now. It took me time but I got it.” And she was giving a silent pray that this would work._

_“You do?” Sherry’s head popped up, her eyes widen. She had asked Claire some time ago, she had thought she forgot. It was an unusual request but it's what made her Sherry._

_“Yeah! Right Leon?” Claire looks to him and pleads with her eyes._

_“Right! It took us a while but we finally have it.” He agrees a bit confused._

_“We’ll hum it for you, but you have to promise to open the door afterwards.”_

_“Ok I promise.” the young girl replies eagerly._

_Claire closed her eyes. She had no idea what it would sound like. She was no excerpt in composing music, she wasn't even sure if this counted. For Sherry she was willing to try._

_She thought of the small girl, thought of all the hardship that they went through. She thought of the battles they won and battles they lost. And thought of all the happy memories that they have created so far._

_Leon smiled softly at the redhead. The tune was soft and barely audible, but nevertheless it was enchanting. He caught onto what seemed to be the course and began to hum along with her and helped add on. She smiled at him grateful for his support and reached over to grip his hand in her own._

_When the tune finished, as promised the door flung open and Sherry stepped out with the brightest of smile._

Claire continued to hum the tune as she ran her finger through Leon’s hair. It wouldn’t make him smile, that much she knew, but it would at least comfort him. It was something that would let him know that she was there and that she wasn't going anywhere.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Bitch.” Jill muttered under her breath.

“Yeah no kidding.” Chris laughed.

When they got to the front desk they were met with a very sour attitude from the clerk. It took for Jill to literally shoving her B.S.A.A badge in the women’s face to get the Ok to visit. They were both overly exhausted having just finish clean up with the school incident. They grabbed a bite to eat and decided to grab something for Leon and Claire, assuming she was even there. Hard tell these days. She hardly answers her phone, Which irritated Chris to no ends.

“Hmm...should we knock?” Chris asks, already shifting the bags of fast food to one arm and begins to raise his fist to knock.

“Already took care of it.” Jill tells him as she stands from her kneeling position. He hadn't even realized Jill was already unlocking the damn thing. And what was even more mind boggling was the fact that it was a lock for a key card.

“How did you even?” Chris asked, confused as hell. She laughs in reply and steps to her tippy toes to plant a soft kiss to his cheek. One day he was going to marry this woman.

As they begin to step foot in the door Chris begins to rant about his dear little sister yet again. Jill rolls her eyes playfully and laughs more at the older Redfield. “You know that phone you carry around to talk to people? OH! what do you know it’s a mobile phone! So, you can talk to them no matter where you at.” He exclaims, gesturing wildly with his one free hand.

Jill smacks him on the arm. “Cut her some slack, I’m sure she has reasons.” She tells him as she cleans off the table that was littered with beer bottles.

“Better be a good one.” Chris sighs a bit looking sadly at the trashed hotel room.

“It is a good one.” Claire declares as she steps out from the bedroom with her hands to her hips. It wasn't hard to miss the duo when they stepped into the room. They weren't exactly discreet about their entrance.

But were they a sight for sore eyes.

“Sis.” Chris says with a big smile on his face, he holds out his arms to welcome her for one of his big bear hugs and she runs to him. It had been some time since she’s seen her brother and Jill.

“What are you guys doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you both, cause I am.” She walks over to Jill and embraces her.

“We wanted to check in on Leon.” Jill tells the younger Redfield and pats her head adoringly.

“And we thought you guys might want something to eat.” Chris adds on pulling out the food from the bags. “I know I do!” The last time he ate was probably sometime yesterday in the morning. It is now noon the next day.

“Where is Leon?” Jill asked, concern written all over her face.

“He’s in the shower. He should be out soon.” It had taken Claire some time to convince Leon that she was not going anywhere. And that she would be there when he got out. After moments of hesitation he finally agreed.

After what felt like an eternity Leon stepped out of the shower and began to dress himself with the nicely folded clothing Claire had left for him. He smiled warmly at the thought of the redhead. He definitely did not deserve her.

After running a towel through his hair he realized faint voices were coming from the other room. One he could make out to be Claire’s, but he was curious who the other voices belonged to. He quietly made his way to the door to get a glimpse of his visitors.

“Someone out there is freely handing it out like it’s candy on Halloween.” It didn’t take much to understand what Chris was implying.

“So, this can happen again.” Leon states catching the others off guard.

“Hey…” Chris replies dumbly looking like a deer caught in headlights.

Someone was willingly putting others at risk for their own sick pleasure. How many more lives have to be lost for end to finally come? Was there ever an end for something like this? Leon wasn't sure how long he could keep going before his dimming light burnt out.

Claire ever so carefully walks over to him and softly pulls him over to a chair at the table and sits him down. She then pulls out his food and sets it in front of him. He wasn't sure if he could hold it all in, but he was willing to try for Claire. And he was rather hungry.

“It’s dead ends for now. But they'll eventually mess up, get sloppy. And when they do-”

“And when they do, we’ll be there to finish it.” Jill finishes Chris’s sentence. She reaches over to grab Chris’s large hand in her smaller one and gave it a gentle squeeze.

This was just as personal for them as it was for Leon, he realized. He almost felt guilty for acting like he was in this alone. But then he’d remember Millie as she took her last breath in his arms. And dead look in the other children's eyes. The guilt that ate away at him. He was alone.

“I can't do this anymore.” Leon admits, picking at his food. “This endless fight of a war that can’t be won.” The more this went on the more he felt as if he were drowning. The more this went on the more he felt the hopelessness settle in his gut. Was there ever really an end to this madness? Or was it a lie they told themselves just to go forward? A hero is what others tend to dub him. “I’m no fucking hero!” He spat out.

The others watched as his face changed with emotions. Chris sighed, throwing his napkin on the table and fixing his gaze on the broken man before him. “It sounds like you could use a break from all this. When was the last time you took time off just for yourself?”

When was the last time? He couldn't even remember. He was always hellbent on making sure his mission was a success. Whatever task they gave him he would do no questions asked. But when was the last he found time for himself?

He couldn't answer.

“Jesus Kennedy, it’s no wonder you’re in this stump. You ran yourself dry.” Chis tone took to scolding.

“Chris.” Claire warned. However, it was obvious to Leon and Jill that the scolding was well deserved.

Chris holds his hands out in defense, a gesture that was to calm Claire down more than Leon. “I don’t mean to drag you further in the mud, really I don’t.” He sighs and begins to take his phone out from his back pocket. He then slides it across the table for Leon to take a look.

“What am I looking at?” Leon asks, a bit confused. On the screen was a picture of a cabin.

“It’s a safe house owned by the B.S.A.A. We mainly use it for when we need to lay low and occasionally for when we need to protect a witness.” Leon looks up eyes slightly widen. “It’s secluded and you won’t be found unless you want to.” Chris and Jill had discussed this on the ride over. Leon needed help, and they were more than happy to lend a hand.

Jill pipes in before Leon could refuse the offer and reaches over to grasp his hand. “You need a break Leon. You need time for yourself so that you may heal properly.” She tells him earnestly. Jill more than anyone would know a thing or two of what grief Leon might be dealing with. She after all inflected so much pain in so many people. But the time she had to herself during her rehabilitation, even if she was bored out of her mind, had helped her tremendously. And she was willing to bet that time off would do the same for Leon, even if he decided to take company.

Leon was beginning to feel a bit emotional again but for whole different reason. Perhaps they were right, some time off would do him some good. Alone? His eyes shift over to Claire, who had held his empty hand the whole time. He wasn't sure if he would be able to do this alone.

“I... Thank you.” He was voice small.

“No need to thank us. Whither you like it or not, you're a part of this family, and we take care of each other.” Chris tells him.

They continued their meal with friendly chatter. Leon had felt much lighter and was grateful to have such an amazing family.

As the day progressed, he found himself laying with Claire on the bed. It was a nice feeling, to have her close by. And yet he also found himself nervous. He wanted Claire to come with him to the secluded cabin. But would she even want to go? Where things even ok between them? They haven't actually properly talked, it was mostly Claire making sure he was ok. And occasionally him making sure she wouldn't disappear. 

“I can you hear you thinking, what’s wrong” She asks him as she runs her finger through his hair.

“Sorry, I was thinking about the cabin.”

“And?” she pressed. He gives a small smile. There was just no getting past Claire.

“I won’t lie, the thought of going alone terrifies me.”

“Why?”

“Before you even arrived, I was stuck in that nightmare. I could feel everything and the god-awful stench...I don’t want to go back there.” He swallowed nervously and clenches his jaw a few times. He knows it was thanks to Claire that his demons stayed at bay. And he didn't even want to imagine what might have become of him had Claire not shown up.

“Leon…” She whispers. She runs her hand down to caress his cheek and he grabs it desperately in his own.

“Come with me Claire...please.” His voice cracks a bit and she can see the tears brimming his eyes.

“Of course, I’d go with you.” She throws her arms around him to bring him in a hug. She would have gone even if he didn’t ask. She wasn't going to leave him alone. Too many years that she had ignored this man. She was tired of it. She missed him, she missed his warmth, she missed the way he laughed and the way he made her laugh. Her life had become somewhat dull without him in it.

And it was in that moment that they both regained a piece of themselves, a piece that neither one thought they would ever get back.

The cabin was nice and cozy. The greenery that surrounded it was a welcomed sight. It was almost like living in a fairy tale. It was enchanting. Each morning they woken with the melody of the birds and each night the cicadas would play their tune. On one particular night the two found themselves slow dancing to something classy.

“What?” Claire says, smiling sweetly. “Do I have something on my face?” For a moment she begins to panic at the thought of having food stuck in her teeth.

“No, no you’re beautiful.” His voice came out low and soft.

“Flatter.” She teases him and playfully smacks his arm.

Over the past five months since they've spent on this therapeutic vacation, Leon has been trying desperately to find the right opportunity to have this conversation with Claire. The two had gotten quite close since they stepped foot into this cabin. It was almost as if nothing had changed and they were back to being each other's best friends. But ‘best friends’ wasn't something that Leon could do. Selfish or not he wanted more.

“What’s wrong Leon?” Claire had asked after a while of silence. She could tell something was eating away at him. He hadn't had an episode in such a long while, she was beginning to worry that he was having a relapse, and that thought broke her heart.

“I’m sorry.” He was finally able to choke out. “I shouldn't have left you that night.” She tries to cut in but he begs her to let him finish. “There’s nothing more that I regret than leaving my best friend in tears. Tears that I created no less.” He scrunches his eyes as he remembers the broken sobs that echoed from behind the closed door. He left his heart there, without realizing it. “I did love you, I should have told you that. I still do.” His eyes begin to blur from the unshed tears. “I’m just so sorry it took me so damn long to figure that out.” It took him four years to realize the feelings he harbored for his best friend.

“I caused you so much grief and for that, my dearest friend, I’m sorry.” He looks down at the hands he realized he grasped during his confession. He knows in his heart he would never deserve someone as caring as Claire. But knew if he had an opportunity with her, he would cherish her for the rest of his life.

“I just needed you to know.” He pushes a strand of her hair behind her ears. “Even if it means walking away from here empty handed.” She looks up to meet his eyes. Her own jaw quivering as she fights with her rattled emotions.

“And if I say it’s too late?” She whispers out, unable to find her voice.

“I won’t stop you from leaving.” She looks down letting the tears spill, and then gasp as he lifts her chin up and locks his gaze to hers. “But I won't stop trying to win my way back into your heart.” His voice cracks and tears begin to fall down his face. “I love you Claire Redfield.” His confession makes her cry out a moan and he wraps her in his arms.

“I love you Claire.” He repeats.

_He had known since his revelation back in September 2013, that he was in love with his best friend. His life since then had spiraled out of control. He became a mess and more times than not, would be drunk on his ass._

_There was annoying knock on the door one day, he had planned to just ignore it but when it became persistent, he had gritted his teeth and was prepared to tell off whomever it was behind it._

_“Leon!” She threw her arms around him, and his drunken state he stumbled back. “Oh! I’m sorry!”_

_The day Sherry had showed up on his doorstep, he was a bit out of it. Couldn't really remember what day it was, and shamefully had to stare at her for the longest time to recollect his memory of her._

_“I fucked it up. And now I can’t even tell her how much I still love her.” Though four year should have been long enough to move on, for Leon he felt he was stuck in limbo with his love for Claire._

_“Oh Leon, that kind of love doesn't go away.” She leans forward a bit to pat his knee. Was it true though? Could a love survive years of no contact? Or worse, a heart break._

She throws her arms around his neck and crashes her lips to his and he tightens his grip around her waist. “I’ve never stopped loving you Leon. You’re a hard man to forget.” she whispers.

She didn't want to admit that she had been a mess after she and Leon ended things. She put a lock on her heart making sure all her relationship afterwards were failures. It wasn't the best of her, she'd only been a shell of her former self.

They desperately cling to each other sobbing for the sight they had lost. How had they let things get so tangled? And how had they lost sight of whom they were. After collecting themselves they look in each other's eyes and for a moment it was as if they saw their younger selves that were just trying to make brighter future for a little girl, and just like that the pieces finally all connect.

Leon vowed that night as he continuously to ravish the love of his life, that he would never take her love for granted and that he would never let her go. That no matter what life threw at them, they would overcome together. And only together were they able to fight off their demons.

“I’m a lucky man.” He whispered softly against her lips.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the creek of the floorboards that had him jolting awake. Ever so slightly making sure not to wake Claire, he makes his way out of bed. He quickly goes to his bag and pull out his handgun and opens the door with caution. Surveying the area, he comes up empty handed but knows that he’s being watched. Was it a friend or a foe? The familiar feeling in his gut told him that it was always both.

“It’s not nice to spy on others.” He says putting the safety back on his gun. “Aren’t we a bit past this phase?”

“Old habit die hard.” a feminine voice calls out from within the shadows. “And I wasn't spying not intentionally.” Somehow, he knew she would track him down. But perhaps he was counting on her to.

“Oh? Than you must have a good reason being here.” The reason was sitting on the dresser.

“That hurts Leon. I thought we were friends” She feigned a hurt expression.

He laughs, which catches her off guard. Now this was a Leon she never had the pleasure of knowing. “Right, Friends. What are you doing here Ada?”

“Actually, I came here because you have something of mine.” She takes a step out from the shadows and gives him a genuine smile.

“You’re right I do.” She waits patiently for him to fetch the compact from the room. She had left it for him ages ago. It was her way of letting him know she would be back for it. And though she came back countless of times she always left it there so they could continue their game of chase. He hands it to her and she looks down at it with a bit of forlorn.

“I must admit, you look happy.” She says as she pockets the mirror.

“I am happy.” He was happy. After so long of being miserable, he was finally in a place where everything just felt right. And Ada could see it plain on his face. She briefly wondered if she had given up her life and settled for one with Leon, if she would have been able to make him just as happy or perhaps even more. It would seem she would never get the answer to that question.

“Take care of yourself Leon. Don't waste this turnover. You won’t get another chance.” She tells him and walks to the front door. “Oh, and by the way. Perhaps next time don’t throw away something so special.” She winks and tosses something over to him. His breath catches as he realizes that the object in his hands was the puzzle piece that he had thrown in his blind rage at the Elementary school.

“Thank you, Ada.” Though she liked to be painted as the bad guy, she had in more ways than one helped Leon realize what he had been missing. It was no coincidence that his puzzle piece had been hanging on the blinds all those months ago. He always wondered how it had got there and was only till now that he realized it must have been her doing. He was grateful to have at least a friend in Ada Wong.

He lays the charm on the nightstand and lays back down in bed, scooping up Claire in the process. He wasn’t going to waste this chance of happiness. Claire meant the world to him and he will continue to show her that for days to come.

“I love you Claire.”

“I love you too Leon.”

Though fate has brought the two together after years of separation, it is fate who will bring desperation to the two in a deadly game of survival, where all possible future looks bleak.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**March 2019**

Petrified a feeling of fear that has you so frightened that you’re unable to move. That is what Leon Kennedy felt as he laid there disoriented. His head pounded and his ears were ringing from the blast. Where was Claire though? He had to find her. He had to find his wife.

“Claire…!” He struggles out.

He groans out as he lifts his head, his vision going in and out of focus. He hears Jake shout out for Sherry but can’t focus on anything else other than the searing pain in his abdomen. His hand goes straight to the wound and when he lifts it he sees blood. In his panic he examines the wound again and realizes that he’s been impaled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	3. Broken pt.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the sound of screaming that had woken him up. He was wanting to think nothing of it and just lay back down with his wife in his arms, but it was the feeling in his gut that told him he needed to be ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be one, but now it's split into two... It just wouldn't end! :D  
> Any ways this chapter contains SMUT...Not very good smut, but smut none the less! Proceed with caution!
> 
> Also I apologize! I really, really,reeeaaallly meant to write fluff... don't know why I always write angst... ( ͒˃̩̩⌂˂̩̩ ͒)  
> I swear though! There is a happy ending!

**March 2019**

Petrified a feeling of fear that has you so frightened that you’re unable to move. That is what Leon Kennedy felt as he laid there disoriented. His head pounded and his ears were ringing from the blast. Where was Claire though? He had to find her. He had to find his wife.

“Claire…!” He struggles out.

He groans out as he lifts his head, his vision going in and out of focus. He hears Jake shout out for Sherry but can’t focus on anything else other than the searing pain in his abdomen. His hand goes straight to the wound and when he lifts it he sees blood. In his panic he examines the wound again and realizes that he’s been impaled.

“Oh no, no no, NO!” Was Claire’s desperate cry as she fell to her knees next to him. “What do I do? What do I do?” Her hands begin to shake as they hovered over him.

“Shit, that doesn't look good old man.” Jake says as he kneels on the opposite side next to Leon.

“You going to be OK!” Sherry cries trying her best to hide the fact that she is beyond worried. They've all been through dire situation, this was no different. They’ll make it...wouldn't they?

Panic had set itself in the back of Leon’s mind. What if he didn't get through this? What if he would never got to see that beautiful baby his daughter and her boyfriend brought into this world? And what if he never got to see his beautiful wife again. For a moment it was as if his life flashed before his eyes.

**September 2016**

“Wow You’re really going through with it?” Chris asked the joy clear on his face.

“I've spent what feels like a lifetime without your sister before, and I didn’t like it. I love Claire. I would very much like to spend the rest of my life with her. With your blessing of course.” Though both men knew even without the older Redfield’s blessing, Leon was going to marry Claire, one way or another.

Chris gives a heartfelt laugh. A gesture that was more to hide the fact that he was near tears, overjoyed for his little sister. “You have my blessing Leon. I know you’ll be a good man for my E-Claire.” Leon had more than enough proven himself to Chris over the years. Who was he to tell the man no? Besides, he has more time than not seen the love they held for each other. He was happy as long as she was happy.

**March 2019**

The alarm sounded signaling for the two to start the day. Both already up, sitting at the edge of the bed blankly staring at the floor. Neither one was ready for the long tortuous journey that awaited them.

The couple had gotten a pair of tickets for a resort. It was a ‘gift’ from Chris and Jill who had just wanted to ‘help’. But it felt as the two were butting into something they had no business in. If Claire wanted the help, she would have asked dear ol’ brother for it.

“We don’t have to do this.” She says plainly.

“Believe it or not Claire. I would actually like to give this a try.” The pain was visible in his tone.

When he got down on his knee to ask the love of his life to marry him, he had pictured many scenarios on how their marriage would turn out. The white picket fence, a little one running around chasing the damn dog through the doggie door, and falling in love over and over again.

He never once, since he put a ring on her finger, saw a failing marriage with Claire.

“I don’t see the point anymore Leon.” She says miserably and turns to meet his sadden eyes. Eyes that she had permanently set him with. “Why are we doing this to ourselves? There’s no saving what’s already been lost.” His frown deepens and she looks down to avoid his gaze.

“Do you really believe that?” He whispers. He has to bite his cheek to keep the sobs that threaten to come out. He wasn't sure where he failed as a husband. But somewhere down the line he had caused his wife to hate him.

“I do Leon, I really do.” She cries out and covers her mouth when she feels her sobs threatening to slip. When had things gotten beyond their control? When had their torch for each other begin to burnout? He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment.

"Please Claire....can we just give this a try?"

“And if it doesn't work? Then what?”

He looks down at his hands and plays with the band around his finger. “Then I promise…I’ll sign the papers.” He says in defeat. That was the last thing he had wanted to do. Leon was hoping that this trip was the thing that they needed to continue forward with this marriage. He couldn't lose Claire, he just couldn't.

This was his last chance to fight.

**May 2017**

It was a day he would never forget. It was the day he rushed home from a mission that he would later be scolded on, not the he gave a damn. It was the day he and Claire lost their unborn child. It was also the day that he felt he lost his wife.

Losing the child had taken a toll on them both. But for Claire she mourned for days. Some days she would stay in bed, despite how much Leon tried to get her up. Some days were good and they would fall back into the loving couple that most people had seen them be. But most days were bad. Most days she would disconnect and hideaway even from him. And most days like now he would find himself in an heated argument that almost always lead nowhere.

“So, what are you saying it’s my fault?” He asks in disbelief.

“I’m NOT saying that! Don’t twist my words!” She furiously wiped away the tears that were spilling from her tired eyes.

“Sure as hell sounds like that Claire!” He slaps his open palm to the dining table, making her flinch a bit. “Don’t you dare tell me that I never wanted that child. That I never gave a shit about them. They were MINE too! I LOST them too!” The tears fell from his eyes and he slumped in the chair and muffled his scream in his hands. Maybe she had resisted him a little for always being away and perhaps he had resented her just the same.

The loss of the child was tearing them apart.

Claire sits in his lap and rest her forehead to his. “I’m sorry…” She whispers. “I’m so sorry!” She cries out and crashes her lips to his. It was rather cruel of her to insinuate anything as such. Of course he’s gone most of the time, but it isn't like he wishes to be. His job is important, and she understood that. And it wasn’t her fault for being emotional. She was after all still mourning. And so was he.

She begins to purposely move her hips electing a moan from him. It had been a long time since they touched each other. Sex was beginning to become somewhat foreign between them. Not wasting any time, he lifts her up effortlessly and pushes her onto the table. He pulls away from the kiss only to remove his button up shirt and helps remove hers in the process. He returns to leave hot wet kisses down her neck and sternum and moves to leave one, two, three kisses on her heart and returns to stare into her blue eye.

“I love you Claire.” He runs his thumb across cheekbone adoringly.

“I love you too Leon.” She kisses him softly on the lips.

He picks her up again and carries her to the bedroom and for the first time in a long while they found the love that they harbored for each other. That night of love and passion was a promise of never losing sight of each other.

Yet somewhere further down the line they had.

**March 2019**

She stared blankly out the window and gave a heavy sigh. Three hours. Just three hours and this flight to hell would be over.

_"Please Claire....can we just give this a try?"_

Leon's broken plea had torn her in ways she could not fathom. The way his eyes glisten from the tears that threaten to spill, to the way his voice wobbled just slightly signaling his emotions were high.

She caused the man who sat patiently next her to become this broken husk. And she hated herself for it.

She is a bad wife.

There was no doubt about that. But she couldn't for the life of her understand why her husband stayed by her side all this time.

_"I'm disappointed in you Claire, not only are pushing away your own goddamn family and friends, but you're also pushing away a good man who loves you more than anything in this world."_

Chris wasn't the only one disappointed, she as well was pretty disappointed with herself. Perhaps that was why she said yes to this trip.

She owed Leon that much.

 

**November 2018**

Claire moved about in the kitchen preparing for the big day. It was almost tiring for Leon to watch as she moved from one task to another. She had been going at it for hours now, and wouldn't even let him step foot into the kitchen.

"Claire let me help." He pleaded.

Not only was it Thanksgiving, it was also the first Thanksgiving that Claire was hosting. Normally she would have been annoyed to have to cook for a handful of people, but because it gave her a reason to keep busy rather than nit picking at everything that Leon did, she welcomed it.

"You wouldn't know what to do. Why don't you go watch the game or something?" She told him offhandedly.

"I know my way around the kitchen Claire."

"Leon, please."

"Fine." He says a bit detached and stalks off to the living room.

She didn't mean to be short with him. Or maybe she had. It was a constant tug of war with herself, with the anger that wouldn't subside. The heartache and disappointment that settled itself permanently within her. It hurt her to hurt him yet she continued.

A baby.

She wanted more than anything to have a baby with Leon.

Claire wasn't the typical girl that grew up with dreams of weddings and little babies crawling around. But when she and Leon had first found out that she was pregnant, she had no idea how much she wanted that. And when that dream was taken from her, it tore her to pieces.

The likely chance of her getting pregnant was a low fifteen percent.

That day she heard the devastating news from the doctor, she went straight home and locked herself in the nursery that was meant for hers and Leon's child, a child that she could never give them and she cried.

She had to let him go.

Leon wanted children. It was no secret to her. She saw it in his eyes whenever he played with Chloe, her adorable little niece, or whenever Sherry uses that cute nickname 'Papa Leo'. She couldn't selfishly keep Leon to herself. He deserved to be happy.

And for that reason she decided to push him away.

The house begins to fill with laughter and chatter, signaling that the Burton's have arrived. She could hear Moira and Polly picking at poor seventeen year old Natalia that her ‘future husband’ opened the door, causing the younger girl to outburst which made the other two giggle.

"Need any help sweetie?" Kathy asks coming to give the redhead a warm hug.

"Yes please!" Claire says, with a bright smile plastered on her face. She doesn't miss the hurt that flashed in Leon's eyes.

"Knock, knock!" Jill announced soon after as she and little Chole opened the door.

The little ball of sunshine ran straight to her favorite person. "Uncle Leon!" She shouted gleefully and flung herself to him.

Leon wasted no time picking the young girl up in his arms. It was adorable that little girl favored him over everyone else in the room. Every time Chris and Jill would go out on one of their dates, little Chole would always volunteer her uncle Leon and aunt Claire.

The girl giggled as Leon claimed he was being attacked by a monkey. "I'm not a monkey uncle Leon! I'm Chloe!" She would cry out in giggles and tighten her hold around his neck.

"So precious, he'd make a wonderful father." Kathy says adoringly, unaware of the drama her words would cause.

Claire looked at the scene. She watched as he twirled the little girl around and saw the bright smiles that played on their faces and everyone else's in the room. He was a natural. And that was what hurt the most.

It angered her and she couldn't understand why.

So, when a glass breaks a few hours later and she finds Leon claiming it was his fault, even though it was obvious he was covering up for little Chole, she snapped. "Dammit Leon!"

"It's fine I'll clean it up. It's no big deal."

It could have ended there. It should have ended there. But her anger took over and small bitter part of her hoped that this would be the final push.

"No big deal? You are so infuriating! It exhausting to be with you, sometimes I don't even know why I married you at all!" It was too far. But it was too late for her to take the words back.

"...real nice Claire." He says in a tight voice and begins to walk away. He turns to look back at her with a sad expression. "You haven't exactly been the easiest person to be around these days yourself, I'm trying Claire." He waits in hopes she'd changes her tune, but when she makes no eye contact, he shakes his head in defeat and walks out of the house, with Barry chasing after him.

"I don't think he really deserve that kind of scolding." Jill states. She couldn't believe how poorly Claire acted. She and Kathy had kept their mouth shut throughout the whole thing, along with everyone else in the house.

Moira and Polly were trying to soothe a crying Chole. The two young women were doing their best not to make eye contact with Claire. That wasn't the friend they knew.

Natalia however, made sure Claire knew she disapproved by glaring at her intently.

"Excuse me, I don't remember asking for your opinion." Claire seethes out.

"No you're right, you didn't. But I'm your friend so you're getting it anyways." Jill tells her as she crosses her arms and sets her with a pointed look. "He didn't deserve that Claire and I know you know that."

"Look at this mess Jill!" Claire gestures widely with her arms.

"It's just a glass get over it." Jill says plainly, shrugging her shoulders. "It's the holiday, the kitchen is crazy, it was bound to happen. You need to not let it get to you like that."

For whatever reason she couldn't listen to any more of what Jill had to say.

Her reason was sound.

In her rage that had yet to calm was boiling over and she regretted almost instantly at the hateful words that spewed out of her mouth.

"When I want advice from the bitch that worked for Wesker, I'll let you know." She should have seen it coming. Her head was thrown to the side as an audible slap was heard.

Why did she say that? Why couldn't she stop her train wreck of emotions from getting to her? And why did she senselessly attack Jill like that?

"Alright the kids just landed they should be here in an hour or so.... what’s going on?" Chris was alarmed by the tens atmosphere and soft sobbing that was coming from his daughter.

Jill storms to Moira and Polly and retrieves her daughter from them. "I can't do this! I can be in the same room as her!" She yells out as she stalks out the door.

"Babe, what's going on?" Chris asked confused and panicked as he rushed after them.

"Wow. You're on a fucking roll Claire." Moira says in a sarcastic manner.

Claire looks down in shame, unable to meet the eyes of the people she considered family. She throws a towel on the counter and walks out the back door. Kathy tries calling out to her, but Claire shakes her head. She just wanted to be alone.

Chris came back a few moments later and found his sister on the patio. He wasn't sure what the hell was wrong with Claire but he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Mind telling me why my wife just drove off with my daughter crying?" He was furious, there was no hiding that. "Shit Claire! You better hope this doesn't ruin anything, because if I have to choose between you and my wife and daughter, I'm choosing them."

She slumps forward to rest her head in her hands. She acted a fool. She never meant to hurt Jill, and now she wasn't even sure she could fix this. And the fact that little Chloe was crying because of her made it so much worse.

"I'm so sorry."

"You had no reason to bring up her past. It's that, in the past and that's where it should stay. What the fuck is wrong with you?" It has been a long time since she had gotten one of her brothers scolding, she had forgotten how much it hurt, to be scolded by him.

"I'm disappointed in you Claire, not only are pushing away your own goddamn family and friends, but you're also pushing away a good man who loves you more than anything in this world." When he had caught up with Jill, he ran into Barry who had just informed him that he had just dropped off Leon at a bar.

_"He was too emotional, I didn't want him to drive that way." The man had told him._

“Y'know, back before you two even became a couple, on the few missions that I ran into him, I have never once seen him as happy as he had been with you.” It was a time Leon was lost, a time where he was trying to find himself, his happiness. “And I remember the exact moment that I was ok if the two of you had ended up together.”

“You remember back when I thought I lost Jill? How I became a monster to you? I wasn't there for you like I should have been, left you with a lot of hardship that I should have been the one taking care of.” She remembers as if it were yesterday. The anger that seeped out from her brother. He was a different man then. “But Leon was there. He was there for you when I couldn't be. That is when I approved. That was when I knew he was a good man.” She looks up from her hands and into his eyes. And it hurt her to see the disappointment in them.

“At least then I was drunk to have become that monster, here you are clearly sober and just as ugly." It had hurt him to say that to his own baby sister, but he was tired of seeing her spiraling out of control. He needed her to come to her senses. He needed to find his Claire.

Claire begins to sob into her hands. She was a horrible person; she couldn't believe how many people she was hurting. And she couldn't believe that she was intentionally hurting Leon, who has done nothing but show her how much he loves her.

That night she had almost lost her brother and his beautiful family. She almost lost the people that she had considered close friends. And though Sherry and Jake had no idea what had happened when they finally arrived, she was pretty sure she would have lost them too.

And never will she understand how she never seemed to lose Leon.

**March 2019**

“You guys are here too? What a coincidence!” Sherry says with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

Jake rolls his eyes at his girlfriend’s attempt at being vague. He tried telling her lying isn't her strong point, but she never listened. Truth was they were sent by that jarhead and his crazy stabby wife to babysit the dysfunctional couple.

_“No way, it's your sister!” He had tried to argue._

_“We're too old for this shit Muller, I'm calling in a favor.” The big hulk of a guy had said._

_And before he could refuse further, because he would have refused further. Sherry had piped in. “Of course, we'll keep an eye on them! You count on us Chris!”_

“Sherry, Jake? What are you two doing here?” Leon asks.

They had run into the two while they were making their way to the front desk. Though it was always a pleasure seeing Sherry, Leon had wished that they hadn't ran into each other this time. He was just hoping for time alone with his wife.

“Oh yeah uh, we just randomly decided to go on vacation! Yeah that's it. And this couples retreat sounded amazing! Right Jake?” She turns to Jake with a smile so wide that it looked like it hurt. It was making him winces.

“Yeah no. We're here to babysit you two.” He says with a smirk.

Sherry's jaw drops open and her eyes widen. Why did she ever think that this was going to be a breeze? “Hahaha you're hilarious Jake. Now shut up before I murder you in your sleep.”

“Ok, what the hell is going on?” Claire asked. She puts her hands to her hips and sets them both with a pointed stare.

Just as Sherry is about to explain, a man walks up the four of them. “Leon and Claire Kennedy? I've been expecting you two. Your brother has told me so much.” It was then that they noticed the letters B.S.A.A that was written on the short sleeve of his shirt.

Looking around for any sign to what her brother had melded them into, Claire realizes as she sees a flyer of the couple's resort that it was no ordinary resort, it was doubled as a couples counseling.

“Oh fuck.” She mutters under her breath.

Leon putting two and two together as well inwardly groans. Were they so far off that they worrying the others? They didn't need counseling. They just needed time together to reconnect. Right?

“Haha surprise?” Sherry stammers.

Ok. Jake takes back everything he said about this ‘vacation’. Things were taking an entertaining turn, and he wasn't about to miss a second of it.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IMPACT a therapeutic couples retreat sponsored by the B.S.A.A. It was designed to help estranged couples who have a hard time of coping from traumatic experience. It was serenity where one could refine themselves. At least that’s what the brochure was saying. It was a nice thought for the men and women of the B.S.A.A. More times than not they would have to deal with monstrosities. It was easy to see why one would lose themselves.

But Claire and Leon did not need counseling.

“Shut it, you...you man child!” Claire exclaimed. Her retort had caused Jake to snort at an attempt to divert his laughter. And Sherry to bite her lip to remain passive. Claire’s cheeks were reddening from embarrassment. Not from her outburst but from the fact that this man who was a bit younger than Moira, was consoling her about her marriage.

“Yeah, no offense, You're like what? Barley off training wheels? We really don’t need your advice kid.” Leon says as he sets his cold gaze upon him, causing the younger man to squirm nervously. The nerve of this kid. Who was he to tell them how to fix their marriage?

“Have you ever been married?” Claire asked

The kid shook his head and was about to voice something, but was cut off by Leon. “Then you have no right to sit here and tell us how we can fix our marriage.”

“We’re half your age, we don't need your advice.” Claire says with a tight smile.

“But I’ll tell you what, if we need advice on how to defeat the final boss on ‘World Legend’” Leon says looking Claire with mirth in his eyes.

“Or how to get the best armor on ‘Beast Slayer’” She adds cheekily.

“Then will know who to contact.” Leon finishes and they both look at each other with amusement in their eyes. And just like that they begin to laugh. It only took them to this moment to find the whole scenario hilarious.

“Let’s get out of here.” Leon tells her and she nods allowing herself to be pulled up. The two walks out of the room leaving a rather stunned counselor. 

“I’m so sorry about them Evan! They’re really stubborn.” Sherry say as she and Jake stand up from their chairs. They had gone for moral support. Or at least Sherry did. Jake just wanted to see it all play out.

The counselor looks up from his shock at the remaining two. “Yeah no, it’s ok. You two wouldn't happen to need some advice, would you?” He asked with hopeful eyes.

Before Sherry could sign them up for anymore shenanigans, Jake begins to pull her towards the exit. “Sorry, but this ship sails itself.” he tells the man and shuts the door forcibly behind them. Sherry sighs. That poor man is going to have counseling himself after her rowdy family.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon and Claire found themselves sitting at the tiki bar. They laughed at how gullible they were to believe Chris would send them to a normal couples resort. She was still going to have to scold him when they got back. But for now, she was enjoying the laughter she was having with her husband. Estranged or not. She missed this. And so did he.

“Excuse me miss, I can’t help but notice you sitting all alone, mind if I join you?” She laughed a bit, and watched as Leon scooted over his chair so that they were closer.

It was adorable.

“What are you doing?” She couldn't understand the shyness that was settling in. This is her husband yet; his stare made her nervous.

“I’m trying to win the heart of a very beautiful lady. The name’s Leon by the way.” He says, continuing his charade.

“Oh, I see, am I getting a glimpse on how Leon Kennedy picked up the girls back in his day?” She gives a sly smile and sips her drink.

“God no! That Leon was a sap, no suave whatsoever. It was a lot more flailing and definitely a lot more awkward.” He laughed at his younger self.

“I don’t know...I thought he was pretty charming.” She smiles at the memory of the rookie cop who had saved her life all those years ago.

“Really?” He looked at her in surprise and she nods.

“You were pretty heavy with your flirting, of course I was smitten!” She looks down to play with her straw to hide the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

“I was heavy with the flirting?” He points to himself and she could hear the amusement in his voice. She hums and nods her head. “If I remember correctly, you flirted just as hard.” Had things took a different turn he probably would have followed Claire to the end of the world.

“I wanted to kiss you at that gate.” He admits and he watches as the straw plops out of her mouth in surprise. “I would have too if wasn't for that damn chopper exploding.”

She closes and opens her mouth a few times, resembling that of a fish. “And I wanted you to kiss me at that gate.” She admits and smiles up at him. She remembers how she wanted to just reach over to grab him by his collar and pull him in for a hot kiss. Normally that is what Claire Redfield would have done, but Leon was different. He made her discover the little butterflies in her stomach.

“We’ve spent a lot of times dancing around each other, haven't we?” So many times, they were within arm’s length.

“So it would seem.” She closes her eyes trying to imagine the life they would have led if they just realized from the start of their affection for each other, but found that she couldn’t. “But I like to think things happen for a reason. Maybe we weren't ready for each other.” She tells him finally.

“Are we ready now Claire?” His voice small and unsure.

She looks up at him and see the man that she had broken before her. The hurt in his eyes that just won't seem to go away. The broken heart that he now wears on his sleeve. She caused him to become this broken shell of a man.

_“Why?” He had asked when she handed him the papers. He saw it coming, of course he saw it coming, he was just hoping that it wouldn't. That somehow things would just magically fix. But they never did._

_“I'm going to be staying at my brothers for a bit.” she had told him, as she began to put her luggage near the front door. But who was she kidding? Chris wouldn't allow this._

_“Claire…” he begins to plead._

_“The fridge and pantry are stocked, so it should last you awhile.” Her eyes were beginning to sting from the unshed tears. This was a lot harder than she had anticipated._

_“Claire… we can fix this.” He throws that papers on the coffee table and walks up to grab her hands. “We don't need to get divorced.” ‘Please don't do this’ is what his eyes pleaded._

_She was about to break, she needed to get out and fast. “It's too late Leon.” she tells him and yanks her hand from his._

_She had left him in a puddle of his own agony. And she left her heart with him as well._

He reaches out and cups her cheek in his hand. “Just...tell me what I did wrong. I promise I’ll fix it.” she leans further into his warm hand.

_“Claire, I love you!” He had told her, hoping that his words would resonate something within her._

_She stood there biting the inside of her lips to keep from crying out. “I don't love you. Not anymore.” she lied and shut the door in his face._

_She cried herself to sleep that night._

She looks down shamefully and cups her hand over her mouth to hide her muffled cries. This whole time she was pushing him away she never once realized she was filling him with guilt. Filling him with thoughts of it being his fault for the drift. How many times did she make this beautiful man cry, because she thought it was for the best? How many times had she caused this man enough grief to not been able to work properly?

_“I didn't think you'd be home this early.” She told him, felling a bit guilty for being there. She came to pack what little clothing she had left._

_He grimaced and looked down in shame. “I've been suspended until further notice.” he admits. Not only was he a failure at being a husband, but was also failing doing his damn job._

_“Oh…” was all she said. But somewhere deep down she knew that she was the cause of his suspension._

_And she hated herself further for that._

She feels his arms wrap around her and she throws her own around his neck laying her head on his shoulder and cried out desperately. Her cries had gained attention but she couldn't care less. This was about her and Leon.

“I’m sorry.” She moaned out. “I’m so sorry! You did nothing wrong, this all me. I caused this drift between us!” And she clings to him tighter as though he would disappear if she let go.

“What’s wrong Claire? I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. As much as I would like too, I can’t read your mind.” He pulls away slightly to brush back her short red locks behind her ear.

She sniffles and steadies her breath. It was now or never. She swallowed nervously and looked at him with grief in her eyes. “I can’t get pregnant Leon. It’s a low fifteen percent. Meaning chances of having a child is slim to none.” She finally told him, and yet she feels no lighter now that it was out in the open.

She cries harder when he brings her head back to his shoulder. He kisses her head squeezing his eyes shut. This is what she’s been dealing with? This is what had her pulling away from him? Was she scared of how he would react? So many thoughts raced through his mind, but one thought stuck out the most.

“I love you Claire.” He kisses her head again and again until he’s pulling away to leave a kiss on her lips. “I do enjoy the thought of children.” he cups her face with his hands to keep her looking at him. “But I promise you, I’m ok without them, as long as I have you, I don’t need anything else.” He runs his thumb over her cheekbone. “I just need you Claire. You're the only one that makes me happy.”

Her heart soared for this man. She yelled at him, berated him, she even told him she didn't love him. She had broken him in many ways and yet he still professes his love to her.

“Take me back to the room.” She tells him softly, her tears still dripping down her face.

“Yes ma'am.”

When they arrived back to their suite, they wasted no time pulling at each other’s clothes.

They kiss desperately, molding their bodies together. Leon leaves open kisses down her neck, chest and stomach as he drops to his knees. He begins to nip at her exposed thighs and Claire finds her hand in his hair, pulling slightly. He looks up at her with hunger in his eyes. He gets to his feet crashing their lips together in harsh kiss that had their teeth clink. He walks Claire back until the back of her knees hit the bed. He pushes her softly until she sprawled out, and kneels down nipping and kissing at her inner thighs. Ever so slightly as he pushes up her sundress, he continues to leave opened mouth kisses on her taut stomach and moves a trail of kisses to her hip bone and nips at it lightly. A sigh of pleasure escapes her lips. She missed this feeling of his lips on her skin.

She lifts her hips in assistance as he pulls down her panties. Leon watches her as her breath hitched when he brought his thumb up to trace her slit and swirl it around. It was the feeling of his mouth greedily lapping at her most intimate parts that causes her hips to jerk forward in anticipation.

Claire throws her head back at the sensation. Her hips begin to rock against him making his hand come up to grip and hold her in place. He hums against her and her eyes roll to the back of head. Her mewls become louder as he adds a finger into the mix.

"Leon!" She cries her chest heaving up and down. Her hands begin to grip anywhere that she could.

He moans into her making her whimper out even more. He lifts her right leg over his shoulder and begins circling her nub harshly with his tongue. His own hips begin to rock forward into the mattress at the pressure that had settled in his groin. He pulls his mouth away from her causing her to cry out in protest.

"Come for me baby." He says huskily as he adds another digit. The sight of her own juices on his lips and his disheveled appearance causes her into a frenzy. She moans loudly and arches her back off the mattress when his mouth returns to her. It was the feeling of his mouth and his fingers that worked deftly that had Claire panting and rocking her hips wildly towards her orgasm. She gives a low and throaty moan as she comes clenching her thighs around his head keeping him in place as she rode it out. He continues licking up her juices before he finally climbs up to her.

Leon helps her take off her dress and tosses it to the ground leaving her bare. He admires her beauty for a moment, then goes to kiss her plump lips. They both giddily climb further onto the bed, kissing and pushing some of the pillows off in the progress. Leon begins peppering her chest with open mouthed kisses and nips at her nipple causing her to elect a moan and she purposely pushes herself fully against him. He groans as he feels her slickness and begins kissing his way up her neck. He rolls his hips against hers a few times before Claire quickly works the button and zipper of his pants and proceeds to kick them off with her feet.

Leon groans out as his cock springs free.

They laid there bare chest to chest staring at one another, both caressing the others face. Leon moves in to kiss her softly. She moans into his mouth and hitches her right leg up. She then reaches down between them and grasp him firmly pumping him a few times causing him to moan out and his hips to jerk forward with her movements. She then guides him to her slick entrance and sighs at the contact. Leon stills himself before slipping into her warmth, both groaning out when he does. He kisses her soundly on the lips before sinking in all the way to the hilt.

As the kiss depends, both cling to each other as they find a pace that suits them. They're breathes coming out in pants, as bodies rocked together, racing towards that finish. Leon groans out dropping his head to the crook of her neck. Her fingernails digging into his back, leaving an angry red trail down its path.

She pushes his shoulder roughly and he gets the hint to roll on his back. She rolls her hips causing his grip on them to tighten. He watched as her breast bounced with her every movement. He watched as she began to bounce on him. His mouth gaped as he panted harshly. She is breathtaking and he would never understand how he ended up with such a beautiful woman.

Her hands fly to his chest and he knows she close. Her back arches as he brings his thumb to brush circles on her clit. She moans his name loudly throwing her head back to expose her throat. He goes up to suckle her pretty neck and flips them over so that he’s ramming into her. She hooks her legs around him pushing him further inside. Leon’s thrust begins to become fast, hard and desperate. She cries out as he hits a sensitive spot that has her seeing white. He then shifts her a bit and purposely hits that spot over and over and over until he has her screaming his name as a wave of pleasure washes over her and her walls clamping around him. Leon squeezes his eyes shut groaning, panting and pumping recklessly a few more times before he's finally moaning out and riding out his own orgasm.

She wraps her legs around him to keep him there for a moment longer. They were entangled with one and other, the air thick with their love.

After she releases her grip from around him, Leon pulls out electing a sigh from them both. He kisses Claire softly, running his hand through her hair. “I love you my Claire Bear.” She laughs and brings him back down for another kiss.

She was done running from this man, that she desperately loved with all her heart. And she was done hurting him. He didn't deserve that. “I love you Leon.” she whispers softly, unable to find her voice. The tears began to well in their eyes.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.” His tears mix with her own as he kisses her again and again. He was sure this time, he and Claire were OK. As long as they were together, they'd be ok.

But he couldn't account for the event that would take place hours later. The tragedy that would threaten to tear them apart even further.

It was the sound of screaming that had woken him up. He was wanting to think nothing of it and just lay back down with his wife in his arms, but it was the feeling in his gut that told him he needed to be ready.

He looked over to Claire and realized that she too had been awoken from the screams. She looks to him with a grim expression and they both nods signaling for each other to get dressed.

It wasn’t in either of them to go anywhere unprepared. It was something they learned over the years of constant terror. They both pull out clothing and gear that they had brought for ‘just in case’ and began to put them on.

“This happens now of all times.” Claire sighs as she snaps on her pouches and holster.

“We don’t know anything yet.” Leon pulls on his shoes. “Regardless, keep low until we know what’s going on.” She nods in agreement.

It only took them but a moment to learn that they were dealing with another case of bioterrorism. Leon cursed under his breath as he and Claire maneuvered their way around the infected. Though they were geared up, they in no way had enough rounds for all this. It was best to avoid wasting ammo in this moment and start planning ahead.

“We need to find Sherry and Jake.” Claire tells him and he doesn't miss the slight panic in her voice. They hadn't seen them since they walked out on the therapist. What if they were caught in the attack? Claire shakes her head from her dark thoughts.

“Agreed.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A Few Moments Earlier**

“But we just ate…” She says in a flat tone.

“Yeah, well I’m growing man, I need food woman!” His retort made her laugh.

Jake and Sherry had walked around aimlessly after Claire and Leon had bolted. The scenery was pretty fantastic, Sherry had never seen such beauty before. Her line of work always leads to bland locations that almost always had a trail of blood. It was nice to at least sit back and relax with the man of her affection.

“You act like you’re the one carrying an extra person inside you!” She said between laughter.

She puts her hand on her still flat belly and gives a soft smile. Sherry is pregnant. They hadn't even known until Jake had made a joke.

_“Ok what, you pregnant or something? Cause this smells fantastic.” He gestures widely to the platter in front of them._

_“Oh shush…” And it was like a lightbulb went off. She had been feeling queasy the last few days. And now that she was really thinking about it, she couldn't exactly remember the last time she had her period._

_They both stood up from their seats making the chair scrap on the wood. And made a run for the little store that connected to the hotel._

_A pregnancy tests. Surely, they would sell a pregnancy test._

“I’ll admit, I kind of half expected you to be angry about this.” She said softly as she watched him put on his combat boots.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m a bit surprised myself.” Never in his life had he thought the he, Jake Muller would ever be a dad. And never in his wildest dreams would think he would ever be ok with it. But perhaps it was because it was with her.

“Now” He says loudly as he got to his feet. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” After running away from their pretty awesome meal to get the pregnancy test, they had decided to call for room service, however it looked nowhere near appetizing as his Luau platter had and he was still pretty fucking hungry.

“No Jake, I’m fine.” She laughed.

“I wasn't asking you.” He tells her playfully and tilts his head to the side and biting his bottom lip.

He comes up to squat in front of Sherry with the goofiest of smiles on his face, and he begins listing all sorts of yummy things to her tummy. He may be rough around the edges but she loved this man with all her heart. And she knew without a doubt that they would both be better parents then their own.

He found a vendor down the street that was selling fresh fruit, and grabbed a bag of apples, before finding that bakery that Sherry had pointed out to him. He couldn't really explain the joy that ran through him. A small part of him was terrified that he would screw up somehow, but another part of him wanted to shout to the people of this island that he was going to be a fucking farther.

He played it safe by buying Sherry a big box of chocolates and made one more stop at a little souvenir shop, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, just knew he wanted to find something that would remind them of this moment.

Definitely not a ring.

They had discussed earlier on in their relationship that neither wanted to be married. It wasn't just sex. They weren't friends with benefits, there was no open relationship, they were lovers. But it didn't mean they had to go and get married.

_“It’s overrated.” He told her._

_“I agree. I love you Jake, you’re the only man that will ever receive my love.” There would be no one else in her life but him, and she was more than happy to keep it that way. “But I don't want to get married.”_

_A sentiment they both shared._

Sherry saw how marriage worked for her parents. She still didn't know if it was love that made them marry or if it was more of keeping them within each other’s grasp. And she saw how broken Mama Claire and Papa Leo’s marriage had been. She didn’t want that burden.

Jake was no different. His belief in marriage was pretty nonexistent since earlier ages. Since the moment that bastard left his mother to care for him on her own. They didn't need rings on their fingers to symbolize that they're off market and they didn't need to be bound by a lousy piece of paper. They should be able to make their own rules for the relationship that they started.

“Can I help you?” And elderly man in a floral shirt called out. His voice was slightly muffled by a surgical mask.

“Doubt it, I don’t even know what I’m looking for.” Jake admits as he continues to browse through the cases.

The man watches Jake with interest. And his eyes widen slightly.

“You...you can't be…” he squints his eyes at the overly confused young man.

“You treat all your customers this way?” Jake remarked in a gruff tone.

“My apologies, the heat has made this old fool delirious it seems.” He turns slightly fiddling with an object to make himself look busy.

Jake rubs the back of his head in confusion, and clicks his tongue in annoyance when he’s unable to make a decision. Just as he turns to leave something catches his eye and he smiles to himself. “Hey geezer!” He calls out. The older man turns with a sour look on his face. “Yeah, I’ll take this one.” He points to a light pink beaded bracelet.

The older man looks at him surprised as he pulls it out from its case. “Ah, a fine choice. Rose Quartz has been a token of love for centuries.” Perhaps he had been mistaken after all. That man would have never been this passionate for his lover.

As soon as Jake takes a step out of the shop, he pulls out the bracelet to admire it. He imagined it around her slim wrist and smiled at how well it complemented her. He could just imagine her bouncing with excitement. And before his train of thoughts could go south, he hears screaming and looks up to see a stampede of people running his way.

“What the hell?!” he said gravelly.

He quickly dropped his belongings save for the bracelet that he safely pocketed and moved to the side of the shop climbing up its wall. He wanted to get a good vantage point to see what hell was going on.

He watched as the people madly dashed down the road, some going into the buildings and others going further down the road as if they were heading for docks.

When his eyes finally land on the source for the hysteria, he gives a very heavy sigh.

“Hey geezer!” Jake calls out looking at the trap door that was left open. “If I were you, I’d close up shop.” He looks back to where all the commotion had started and shakes his head. “Cause things just got a whole lot messier.” 

This was the only warning that he could give the old man. He had more pressing matters to deal with. If he was smart like Jake thought he was, he would get a move on and off this godforsaken island.

For now, his main focus was getting back to Sherry and their unborn child.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon and Claire had made their way successfully to the lobby without wasting any ammo. Any zombies that got in their way they had subdued with their knives. However, a sickening feeling in their gut told them that the zombies would be the least of their concern, and that their knives weren’t going to cut it.

“There’s the exit!” Leon pointed out and they both bolted for the doors.

They ran as fast as their limbs could carry them. Claire was ashamed to admit that she may have been holding them back, she after all hadn't been keeping in shape since her departure from TerraSave. All that muscle mass that she had gained over the years, was gone. She ignored to her best ability when her legs and lungs began to have that familiar ach. And cursed under her breath at how pathetically tired she was. Leon reaches for her hand and pulls her along. She would have cried from embarrassment if weren't for the situation they were in.

“I’m sorry…” She says a bit out of breath.

“Don’t be. You don’t need to apologize for this.” He tells her softly and pulls her along further towards the door.

When they arrive at the entrance and just as Claire pushes the door open an alarm sounds causing to the two to startle and search their surroundings. Leon looks up in time and pushes Claire out the door, just then a shutter gate falls between them.

“Shit!” Leon curses and smacks the gate with his palm.

“Oh no.” Claire moaned out as she picked herself up from the ground. She runs up and pushes at the damn thing in frustration.

“Let’s see if we can open it.” He tells her but he knows it won’t budge. They kneel down and try lifting it but to no avail. It was stuck and it would remain stuck. Leon looks passed her and sees a few infected heading her way. “Claire get out of here.” Was his tight reply.

She rests her hand against the gate briefly, and he puts his palm where hers rested. “Leon” She says in a breathy tone. “Stay alive.” She tells him.

“Ditto.” He replies with a wink.

He watches her as she dodges one Zombie after another. His heart aching for being apart from her. Claire is strong, he knew that. So, he needed to be just as strong and find a way out of this nightmare. Only when she’s out of sight does he turn and begins venturing forward.

He looks at his surrounding and notes that all the windows have been barred off. He shakes his head in annoyance and just knows that getting out of here wasn’t going to be easy.

But it never was.

He carefully side steps bodies that litter the ground and pats down those that look important. He finds a ‘staff only’ key card and pockets it and continues forward to the computers at the front desk.

He wasn’t at all sure what he was looking for but hoped to find some kind of clue that would give a hint to what he was dealing with. He gives a frustrated sigh when he comes up empty handed. The computers held no information other than the guest who occupied the hotel. With a new found purpose he scrolls through the names and stops on one that holds his interest.

“I hope you made it out of here Sherry.” He says softly and heads straight to the elevator.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Claire was a badass, Jake had decided. He knew from what Sherry had told him that Claire was more than able to take care of herself, but somewhere in his mind he had always doubted that. She always came off as a damsel in distress of sorts. Boy was he clearly wrong.

Jake had been on the verge to give her assistance but was stuck in awe. He watched as she took out at least five zombies single handedly with a fucking knife, and watched how she dodge them effortlessly.

“So, this is the famous Claire in action.” Jake says the mirth clear in his eyes. “I have to admit I didn’t think you were such a badass.”

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Glad to have proven myself to you.” She says sarcastically and begins to search one of the bodies she put on the ground. She pulls out a key with a emblem of a flower on it and puts safely in her pouch.

“Ok what’s the plan femminator? I need to find Sherry and I can’t help but notice that you're missing your shadow.” Jake tells her and she looks up at him surprised.

“Sherry’s not with you?” Her eyes widen with fear.

“Not unless she’s hiding in my pockets.” He pats his jacket and jeans as if to prove a point.

“Leon’s trapped in the hotel; the whole fucking place is under lock down...he pushed me out just as the gate fell.” They both watch as their eyes began to show their grief. Instantly she knew that Sherry was also imprisoned.

“Shit.” Jake breaths out.

“Leon will NOT let anything happen to her.” She tells him gently. She imagined her husband searching for any clues that he could find and also searching for Jake and Sherry just in case they were trapped in there with him. “She’ll be fine Jake.”

“You’re right. She will be fine. Cause I’m not going to let anything happen to her.” He stalks towards the direction that Claire had come from, with her trailing behind him.

She couldn’t let him go back that way. There had been a few close calls just getting to where she was at. They needed to move forward and find a safer route to get back to their loved ones.

“Jake, stop!” She shouts. She grips his hand and he angrily yanks it out, but he patiently waits for her. “We need a plan; we can’t just go in there blind and guns blazing.” And he hated that she was right. He didn’t even have a gun to begin with.

“Then what do you suggest we do? I’m not gonna sit around waiting to be rescued. Sherry needs me now, she’s in danger.” He tells her folding his arms over his chest.

She looks at their surrounding and notes a couple of zombies ahead and few scattered around them. “I won’t lie” she says grimly and pulls out derringer from within her boot. “We are in more danger out here than they are in there.” The moans were getting louder and Claire couldn't help but notice that a few of the zombies that laid scattered on the ground were beginning to show a hint of red on their skin. It was something Chris had mention in his reports about the spencer mansion.

_“They were different from the others. Faster, stronger and lot harder to put on the ground. Their skin was an angry shade of red. As if the top layer just melted off. Crimson Heads is what I found on a note. The only way to prevent others becoming like them was to either shoot them in the head or burn the dead bodies.”_

She looks up to him, her eyes wide in fear. “We need to get out of here.” The anxiety clear in her voice. She knew for a fact that they were in no way prepared to take on a horde of super zombies. Not with the gear that they have. She started looking around for any place to lay low.

“You gonna fill me in or what?” Jake asked as he tried keeping up with her. “Cause it kind of feels like we’re running with our tails between our legs and I don't like it!” he shouts and angrily pushes open a door and shoves her in there.

“All those dead bodies on the ground are going to come back up.” She huffs out a bit and grabs onto her side.

“Yeah no shit! It’s what they do.” He tells her in a matter-of-fact tone.

“No Jake, these are different.” He looks at her confused and she sighs. “These were already zombies when they went down. But they weren't killed properly, meaning they will come back stronger and faster and whole lot deadlier.” He looks at her, the gears finally turning in his head and he brings his hand up to his mouth and curses. “They’re called Crimson Heads, the last time they were heard of was twenty-one years ago. When Chris had ran into them at the spencer mansion.” It was becoming even more puzzling on why the virus was unleashed here, but she at least had a clue on what virus they were dealing with.

“Well then how do we take them out?” They couldn't just sit on their asses waiting for the inevitable.

“Well… we need ammo for one.” She and Leon brought what they could, but it still isn't enough for them to last on this island.

And most importantly they still needed to find a way to get Leon and Sherry out of that damn hotel. She cursed her damn luck for being separated from Leon after just mending their broken relationship.

“Please be okay.” She whispers looking sorrowfully out the window of the shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you survive all that angst? Or are you in DANGER?  
> Here's a first aid spray, patch yourself up and let's continue forward!
> 
> (Thanks for sticking with me this far! :>)


	4. Broken pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate had thrown ups and downs their way, and though at times their future looked bleak, together they had conquered their demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story probably has a LOT of mistakes... lmao!  
> Anyways, we are coming to an end. I was going to hold off til Saturday to post the rest of the story, but eh!  
> I have no patience!!! :D

The two had walked aimlessly around the hotel keeping quiet and on guard. Leon had thankfully found Sherry in hers and Jake’s room. She was a bit embarrassed that he found her cowering in the corner, slightly sobbing.

_She heard a banging on the wall coming from next door. It had grabbed her attention enough for her to turn off the loud music that Jake had left playing. When the noise stopped, she had begun to become curious and walked next door to check in on the person. She noticed that the door was left ajar and pushed it open slightly, calling out._

_When she got no answer, she carried forward._

_It was when she saw a young man with his back towards her, staring blankly at a wall that she called out “Hey are you ok?” and just as sudden he turned making her gasp out and fall on her bottom._

_The man's jaw was dislodged and he had blood all over his arms and chest. It was then that she notices the bloody handprints on the wall._

_She had quickly got to her feet and ran back to hers and Jake’s room shutting the door, however the man's arm got caught between the door and the frame and was clawing wildly for her. She cried out a few times pushing with all her might and was luckily able to shut the door. Causing the man’s arm to fall on the ground._

_How was she going to make it out there? What if she couldn't protect her baby? And it was with those thoughts in mind that had her hiding in a corner, rocking on her hills._

_Leon had found her in such state. When he got to her door and noticed the blood stain, he felt slightly panicked that something had happened. With caution, he pulled out the ‘staff only’ key card and opened the door weapon readied._

_He heard the soft sobbing and went straight to the source and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. “Sherry?” He called out softly and knelt in front of the frail girl._

_“Leon!” She cried and threw her arms around him._

_“It’s ok kiddo, I’ll get you out of here.” He had told her._

Since being reunited they had found a lot of dead ends and no way out of this hell. They had searched the very top of the hotel and found nothing but more dead bodies and nothing that was of use. The only place that was left, was down.

“Are you ready for this?” Leon asked as they got on the elevator yet again.

“No, but we don’t really have a choice, do we?” She gives him a small smirk.

“I suppose not.” He sighs.

He pushes the button that descends them further down. He never liked basements. It always led to no good. But they were out of choices. He just hoped that luck would be on their side and would show them a way out of this hell.

“Leon there’s something I should tell you.” She says meekly as she fiddles with her pistol. He looks at her and notices her struggle to form the words. He puts his gloved hand on her shoulder for reassurance and she looks up to give him a gentle smile. “I’m pregnant.” She says in a timid way and looks around the room avoiding his eyes. “We just found out today. It’s why I was sacred in that corner...I didn't know what to do.” She finally looks him in the eyes and he watches as the tears drip down her face. “I’m scared Leon...what if something happens to the baby?”

He blinks a few times before he grips her shoulders firmly  
“You and the baby are going to be fine.” he wipes away her tears. “I’ll get you both out of here, I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you or your baby.” He strokes her head and she cries out as she flings herself to him and he can’t help but laugh when he's stumbling back a bit from her force.

“You’re going to be a wonderful granddad!” She cried out and he gave a bark of laughter tightening his embrace. A granddad, now that was something.

When they reach the lower levels, they are greeted with an eerie silence. Leon orders Sherry to stay behind him and she nods in acknowledgement. They walked down the long hallway and open a door that read ‘security’.

“Wow, I'm almost surprised it opened without needing a key.” Sherry jokes.

“Yeah no kidding.”

Far east of the room was adorned with security monitors that covered the lobby and halls of the hotel and places that they could only assume were outside.

“Check for supplies and whatever information you can gather.” Leon orders, Sherry nods her head and proceeds to look around.

Leon goes up to the monitors and begins switching the feed. He just needed a glimpse of her. Just a small glimpse that would tell him she was ok. And just like that he finds her on one screen and his breath catches when he sees her and Jake make a run for it.

“They made it, they're ok!” Sherry exclaimed happily when she returned with a journal in hands.

“Yeah, I knew she would.” He clears his throat at an attempt to hide fried emotions.

“I’m assuming you guys made up?” The joy was apparent in her voice.

“Yes actually.” He gives her a playful glare before taking the journal from her hands.

“That’s good, because I was getting a little worried there.” When she learned of the problems, they were going through her heart had shatter for them both. She couldn't fathom why their marriage was failing, she knew more than anyone of the love they both held for each other.

Leon felt a wave guilt wash over him. They in no way meant to cause worry in the others. It was something that Leon had felt he could handle on his own. Maybe if had reached out sooner they wouldn't be where they are now.

_“I don’t want to do this Claire!” He had cried out and clenched the papers in his hand._

_She came by to see if he had signed them. ‘It’s like ripping off a band aid’ she had told him. But for him it was more like pulling off the stitches of a fresh wound. He wasn’t ready to lose her. And yet it seemed as if she were ready to throw him aside._

_When Chris had stopped by unannounced that day, he found them sitting across from each other heads hanging low and tears running down their faces. He shook his head in disappointment and threw an envelope on the table._

_“A gift.” he had told them._

_“I’m tired of seeing you both miserable. You guys need to fix this.” And he waves his hand to shut Claire’s protest. “No, no I’m done hearing the excuses. I don’t need to know why you quit your job or why your living in an apartment when you have a perfectly good home.” he sets Claire with a stare as if to scold her. “And I don’t need to know why you were suspended.” he turns his gaze to Leon. “You guys need to fix this, it tearing you both apart.”_

“We love you guys. It hurt to see you both fall apart from each other.” Sherry says with smile.

He remembers the hope that had settle within himself when Chris presented them with the tickets, and he remembers the shimmer of light when Claire had agreed to stay that night.

“I don’t know what you guys are dealing with. And I won’t pry. It’s not my business. But we’re here for you guys, if you need that little shove, that little piece to make you both remember why you love each other in the first place, then you can count on us for that.” She reaches over and grabs one of his hands to give it a gentle squeeze.

Leon reaches over and ruffles her hair slightly. “Thanks kiddo, I appreciate that and I’m sure your Mama Claire dose too.” They have been through high ups and low downs and never once did they lose the supports from those they love. They owed it to them to make it out of there and start showing the love that they should have all those years ago.

“You think these buttons do anything?” Sherry asked after a while of silence. She had searched all the drawers while Leon was skimming through the journal and came up empty handed. The only thing that was left was the buttons in front of the screens.

“Wait…” Leon says in a low and rough manner, that has her pulling her hand back in alarm. She was about to apologize for thinking rashly when she realizes he wasn't speaking to her. “That bastard was the one who caused the epidemic at the school?” He looks to her with rage in his eyes. “The same guy who had thrown Claire to the curb?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**July 2013** ****

**I was approached by three men in mask. “How would you like to be a god?” They had asked. I laughed in their face and walked away. Only as I took the second step did their question sink in.**

**A god? Me? It was an entertaining thought.**

**I turned to find the three of them still waiting. It was like they knew I would come to reason.**

**They opened a brief case I had not noticed they were carrying. Inside were tubes with some kind of substances. In that instant I knew what I was dealing with.**

**That epidemic on the news flashed before my eyes. Though it would have scared just about anyone, it didn't scare me.**

**-Joe Hurst**

** October 2014 **

**Those IDIOTS! Those goddamn IDIOTS!**

**It was supposed to be easy!**

**Get in and get out. But those idiots took matters into their own hands. They weren't supposed to find out about the virus. Had things gone properly, the dead would be walking the streets.**

**No matter, what’s done is done, those children were only a taste of what is to come.**

**The B.S.A.A however, is proving to be rather bothersome. That organization needs to be taken out.**

**Along with that man. Kennedy or something?**

**It’s a rather shame I couldn’t get close that bitch.**

**-Joe Hurt**

** August 2016 **

**Goddammit! I have failed them and now they’re trying to terminate me! I won’t let them! I’ll hide however long it takes for me to throw of their trail.**

**However.Long.It.Takes.**

** February 2019 **

**It seems my time is up. That bitch has found me. But I won’t go without a fight. In a few months that island will open up. It will be my final chance to prove myself. My final chance to bring the B.S.A.A to me.**

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Joe!” Leon seethes out. He was the cause of those poor children’s death. How could he live with himself knowing he had killed the innocent? “Push the goddamn buttons!” Leon barks out to Sherry, who scrambles to her feet and complies.

Leon was seeing red. He was going to make sure that Joe would meet his demise here.

One of the buttons that Sherry had pushed, opened up a passage in the basement. Leon studies the map making sure to memorize each turn rather than having them run in there blind.

Sherry's gasp makes him turn to her in alarm. “What? What’s wrong?” She points to one of the screens. His eyes widen as he sees his wife, Jake and an older man running from something. He switches the camera view to try to figure out what was pursuing them. The cold sweat slides down his neck, as he watches in horror.

They were running from an Ogroman.

“We need to go NOW!” He begins to run out the room with Sherry trailing behind him. They needed to give them assistance and fast. The passage that opened should lead them outside, he just hoped that they would make it in time.

“Leon!” Sherry whispered harshly when a shrill scream echoed down the hall.

Just then a mic clicks on and a tapping sound is heard. “They thought I was a failure yet look at you all cowering in fear. Try all you like insects, you won’t make it off this island. Alive that is.” The man begins to laugh madly which makes Leon’s blood boil even more. He sees a camera on the other side of the wall that seemed to be following their movements. He shoots it in his rage and it makes the mad man cackle even more.

“You can shoot all the cameras you like Leon Scott Kennedy. It won’t save you.” He says in sing-song voice.

“We'll see about that.” Leon mutters under his breath.

“Oh, by the way, I hope you like the surprise I left you.”

Leon cursed under his breath. In his blind rage he had put Sherry and himself in more danger. He could hear their sharp claws digging into the walls as they climbed. He could hear the shrieks signaling for the others around them.

“The fools before me didn’t know how to handle such power. They always used a muted version of the sample. I however figured it best to use them all at once. The more the merrier, right? Have fun dying Leon. And don’t worry I’ll take good care of your wife.” Joe chuckles darkly.

Leon gritted his teeth.

Sherry could see the anger seeping off him. She puts her hand on his shoulder and gives him a small smile and he lets go of the breath that was holding.

Right. He needed a clear head if they were going to make it out of here. He needed to get Sherry and the baby somewhere safe. There wasn't time for him to carry out his Vendetta.

Just hold on Claire.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Run Jake!” Claire yelled as she covered him and the older man from behind.

The shop that they had entered was the little souvenir shop. Jake was slightly irritated that the old man didn’t take his warning to heart. But also a bit glad when the man claimed to know where they could get their hands on some high grade weapons.

“I’m running as fast as I can! And what the hell? I thought you said were dealing with the T?” He dodged the crimson fucks grasp and shot it’s head off with a shotgun. They were lucky that old geezer had that on hand.

“It doesn't make any since, I know! But we can worry about that later, for now when need to lose this guy.” Claire had her fair share in dealing with creature half her size, but never fought anything this big, it was a bit intimidating. “Ugh! How did you do it Leon?” The things that husband had conquered alone even, were beyond words.

“There the building!” The old man gasped out and pointed with his shaking finger to an old rundown warehouse.

“That’s great, but we can’t exactly lead that fucker there!” Jake was frustrated. They had been running for a goddamn while now and no luck finding anything that could prove to help fight these assholes. But it wasn’t a game and wasn't like he was just gonna find these things laying around.

Claire looks him in the eyes and sighs. She digs in her pouch and pulls out the key that she found. “You have better find something in there that will give us the upper hand.” He looks at her in shock, but is unable to refuse. “I’ll draw him away.” She turns to leave but is stopped when the older man put his hand on her shoulder.

He takes the shotgun back from Jake and nods his head. “I have served my purpose. Get yourselves to that building and find a way off this island.” And before Claire could protest Jake drags her off with him.

“He’s saving our asses; Let’s not waste this chance.” He shouts over to her.

Her shoulder slump slightly and she nods her head. “You’re right. We need to get back to Leon and Sherry.” She looks back for a moment in forlorn but continues onward towards the warehouse the older man pointed out.

“You do realize that we’re probably walking into trap, right?” Jake says and she could her the smirk in his voice.

“Figured as much. Chaos breaks out and not a single soldier in sight. Whatever’s behind those doors, we need to be prepared.” For all they knew, they could be walking into a horde of crimson heads. That though had sent a shiver down her spine.

Claire hands Jake her knife as they approach the building. They look at each other and nod. He inserts the key and fist bumps the air when it unlocks. Ever so carefully he opens the door having his knife ready for whatever pops out, but it was too dark to see inside and the night was proving not be any help. Arms come out and grip onto Jake.

“What the fuck!” He begins struggle with what looked to be a woman. “Get off me!” He continues to shout.

“Jake calm down!” Claire curses as she is unable to get a good shot. Just then the ladies head pops off and something grows in its place.

“Holy shit! Her head!” He struggles further with the woman and ends up falling with her on top.

“Stay calm!” Claire tells him. And if it weren't for the situation he was in, he would have flipped her off.

“This bitch is trying to give me one painful kiss! You stay calm!” He retorts angrily.

She rolls her eyes playful. “Men.” She scoffs. “Don’t worry I got this.” She tells him and goes over to kick the women off and shoots it a few times in the head, until it's immobile.

Jake hurriedly gets to his feet holding on to his knees catching his breath. He clicks his tongue and strides to the dead body on the ground and kicks it. “Stupid bitch!” he mutters under his breath.

“For the record, when we tell the others about this, I helped.” He gives her a pointed look when she laughs out.

“Aww! I was looking forward to telling Sherry that you cheated on her with this monster babe!” She laughs again when he clicks his tongue.

“Hey that’s not funny. I could have died.” He tells her as he grips a hand around his neck.

“Well then you're lucky you're on my team!” She pats his shoulder and begins to walk into the dark building. “Come on, let’s see where this leads.”

“Nothing good, I can tell you that.” He says under his breath and walks into the darkness after Claire.

“There’s no need to be scared Jake, I’ll protect you.” She says mockingly.

“Haha! Fuck you.” Despite the tease he found himself laughing.

She was beginning to feel more and more at ease. Since this whole thing hard started and since being separated from Leon, she had felt at a loss. But this playful banter that she was having with Jake was helping her coupe just the slightest. Perhaps it was helping him as well.

They walked carefully through the darkened building, using Jake’s phone as the source of light. The room was filled with a bunch of desks and papers were scattered all over the floor. Far west of the room laid double doors. They walk up and leaned against both sides of the frame. Claire opens the door slowly and peeks her head out. She then closes it suddenly and gives Jake a stern look.

“What?” He asked annoyed.

“You need to be quiet now.” She tells him in a harsh whisper.

“What for? The dead is already awake.” he says sarcastically.

“Shut it monster lover! There’s a licker out there.” She opens the door slightly so that he could see the skinless beast the perched itself on the roof, and closes it soon after.

“Would you leave it alone already!” His glare made her laugh. He was never going to live this down it seemed. “And what the hell is that thing?” He had seen some pretty horrendous creatures during his missions, but this one was new to him. It was ugly as fuck.

“You're next girlfriend if you're not quite. She likes to give extra tongue.” She snickers at the disgust that plays on his face.

“Ah! Gross! Whatever, mouth is shut. Lead the way Femminator.” He gestures with his hand.

“Ok, slowly now, no sudden movements, their blind but they can hear and smell very well.” She tells him and he nods his head.

She opens the door slowly and they both crouch down to keep under it’s radar. They slowly make their way across the dark hall that was illuminated by the moon. Just few more inches and they would reach their destination and hopefully reach the weapons the old guy promised.

They let out a sigh of relief when they reached the door at the end of the hall, but that relief was short lived when they open the door and voice shouted out “OH THANK GOD!” causing their eyes to bug out and for them to scurry into the room shutting the door and looking for anything that would keep the lickers from breaking in.

“What the hell! All that work better not be wasted because of you, I swear I’ll kill you myself if I don’t make it back to Sherry!” Jake yells angrily as he helps Claire move a heavy file cabinet in front of the door.

“Make yourself useful!” Claire shouts to the man who was hiding under one of the desk. “Help us!” She barks out and the man scrambles to his feet and helps them hold their barricade. She gritted her teeth as the shrills grew louder. She looks up and curses. “I forgot to mention that these asshole like to hid in the vents!”

Jake looks to her and shakes his head. “Dammit! There’s no end to this shit!” He pushes all his weight against the file cabinet. “Yo, Femminator! We’ll hold this as long as we can” He tilts his head at the small man next to him. “You go and find us something we can use, yeah?”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” She tells him and leaves the two behind as she ventures further into the room.

Only when she steps behind one of the many doors, does Jake turn his head to the smaller man next to him. He shakes his head in further annoyance when he realizes it's the therapist from earlier. “Hey this might not be the right time, but I think you might need some counseling.” Jake tells him jokingly. The man whimpers out and Jake throws his head back in a laugh. Yeah, they could hold their own.

“I found them!” Claire called back from within a room. Her intuition that had been dormant for so long lead her miraculously to the armory.

The room she had stepped in was lit up by a red light. There was only one desk that was to her right. There was a glass case a few feet in front of the desk and to the left of the case was a monitor that was mounted to the wall and a keyboard that was mounted underneath. “A control panel?” On the other side of the control panel was a glass door that lead to a room filled with weapons.

“Hallelujah!” Jake shouts in relief.

“They're locked behind this glass door! I’m gonna see if I can find the damn code.” She yells back.

“Why isn't this shit ever easy!” Jake groans.

She quickly looks around the room, and cries out in frustration when she unable to find anything and strides forward to the control panel. “What’s the worst that can happen?” She says softly to herself and pushes the enter button.

Her eyes widen and her mouth gapes. It worked! “Jake I’m in!” she yells out gleefully and rushes into the room. She doesn't waste any time and starts strapping the weapons over her shoulder, but just as suddenly she hears Jake yell “SHIT” and before she could make her way back to him, an alarm sounds and the door closes locking her in place.

“Oh no!” She yells in her panic and begins to bang on the glass door. “This cannot be happening!” She brings the butt of the rifle and begins hitting the glass in hopes that it would break.

“Get back!” Jake shouted as he took aim. He and the therapist made a run for it when those damn things started to crawl out of the vents. And of course, some kind of alarm had to trigger. When they got to the room Claire was in, he helped the smaller man move the desk in front of the door but left when he saw Claire stuck behind the glass.

The shoot rang out but the glass did not break. Claire looks down when she begins to hear a noise in the room. “Oh shit!” She looks back up to him in horror. Water begins to seep in from two pipes that were adorned across from each other and at the bottom of the wall. “Get me out of here Jake!” she barked. She wasn't going to die like this. She couldn't. There was still so much that she wanted to say to Leon so much that she wanted to make up to him. She returns to hitting the butt of her rifle to the glass at full force.

“How the fuck did you get in? What was the fucking code?” Jake gritted his teeth each time the damn screen told him the code he entered was incorrect.

“I just pushed enter.” She admitted miserably.

“Yeah well it’s not working! FUCK!” He smashes his fist on both side of the keypad.

“Just hold on! There has to be something here.” He begins to search through all the papers on the desk and moves to the bookshelves when finds zilch.

“Holding…” her voice was small and timid.

The water had reached to Claire’s chest. She was huffing out growing tired of her assault. She looks around the room for anything she could use to get herself out from this predicament but comes up empty handed. She groans in frustration and throws the rifle to the water making a splash.

“GODDAMNIT! DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP CLAIRE!” Jake was seething as he continued to look for the damn code. Sherry would never forgive him if he didn't save Claire.

“What the fuck would Leon do!” He continued to throw books behind him in his rage. He could see the fight leaving Claire and the guilt began to settle in his gut.

The water by now had pushed Claire up far enough to where she could touch the ceiling. Her breath was coming in shallow huffs. She was doing her best to keep her panic at bay. She kept her feet kicking and tilted her head up. In her frenzied mind she began to wonder if she deserved this. For being horrible friend and wife.

She closed her eyes as the water grew closer to her face, she just wanted to remember him. If she was going to die anyways, she wanted her husbands, her beautiful, beautiful husbands face to be the last face that she saw.

She takes in her last gulp of breath as the water engulfed her completely. She could hear a commotion but it’s too distorted to make it out. “I tried.” She whimpered out in her mind as she heard loud banging against the glass.

She tries to keep the picture of Leon clear in her head as the darkness begins to pull at her. She begins to feel herself struggle as the need for air grows stronger. Why? Why now of all times was she being tormented with her past mistakes? She could see the hurt in Leon’s eyes each time she had pushed him away. She could see the heartache that she had caused him.

“I’m so sorry.” was the last thing she let out.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon and Sherry had raced out of the licker infested basement and made their way as quickly towards where Claire and Jake had been spotted. It didn’t take them long to find the area with the Ogroman roaming around.

“You two!” An older man in a floral shirt called down to them.

The man was perched on top of a building with what looked to be like a grenade launcher in his hands. It was then that Leon realized that it was the man who had escaped with Claire and Jake. He nods his head to Sherry and they both run to the building.

“There’s weapons and ammo, make yourselves useful and let’s take out this son of a bitch.” The man tells them as Leon helps Sherry onto the roof.

It was like the man was prepare for this day, he had a whole arsenal set out for them on that roof. Leon on any other day would have questioned him, but now isn't the time. He picks up a rifle and hands it to Sherry. He could see the protest already on her lips. “Kiddo, we’ll take out that thing, but I need you to stay here and shoot from afar.” He looks down to her flat tummy and smiles a bit. “Please, Sherry.”

“Birkin’s kid?” The older man questioned. This had made them both turn their heads towards him.

“How did you know that?” Leon glared and began to advance forward.

“No time, look.” The other man says and points his finger to the Ogroman who had set its gaze on them.

They never did find out how that man new Sherry’s parents. He was taken out pretty early on in the fight leaving Leon and Sherry to fend for themselves. When the battle was finally over and when they went to check in on him, his body was gone. Leaving them both puzzled.

They had pressed forward towards the old warehouse. The old man had mentioned before his ‘departure’ that a pretty redhead and a man who looked like a thug went there to grab weapons.

_“But you have all this here, why send them on a scavenger hunt?” Leon had asked a tad irritated._

_“I have my reasons.” The old man said, leaving it at that._

When they got to the warehouse the door was left open. Leon flashed his light inside before venturing further with Sherry. They walked to the double doors and Leon closed it as quickly as he had opened it.

He turns to sherry and gestures with his finger to be quiet. She nods affirmative and he opens the door again carefully stepping into the hallway. When he was close enough, he opens fire with his shotgun and doesn't stop until the licker is motionless on the ground.

They run towards the door at the end of the hallway and Leon curses when it won’t budge. Leon rams his shoulder harshly at the door a few times making the licker screech out from behind.

“I think I can fit in there!” Sherry tells him as she already begins to squeeze herself in the gap that Leon made.

“Sherry wait!” He begins to protest.

“They could need our help Leon! I have to try.” She pleads with her eyes and he gives a heavy sigh.

He reaches behind him and unclips a grenade and hands it to her. “Try to take out as many as you can with this.” He places his hand on top of hers, still reluctant to let her go alone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be safe.” She tells him then turn to squeeze into the narrow passageway.

“Oh shit!” He hears her cry from the other side.

“Sherry!” Leon shouted.

He rammed his shoulder against the door with more force, causing whatever was blocking his path to budge just slightly. He stills when he hears a loud explosion, the sweat sliding down his face.

“Sherry?” He softly spoke.

He begins to hear shuffling on the other side and metal scraping against the floor. Something falls with force and the door swings wide open. Sherry huffs out with her hand lying on her chest. She gives him a smile and nod. “I did it!”

“You did good kiddo.” relief rushing over him.

“GODDAMNIT! DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP CLAIRE!” They hear Jake shout and they both look to each other in alarm and run towards the commotion.

Leon becomes further agitated when they come up to another blocked door. “Hey open up!” he shouts and bangs his fist against the surface. Sherry readies her weapon just in case something other than Jake pops out.

“Old man?” Jake replied in awe.

“See I told you I heard gunshots!” Another voice cried.

“Yeah yeah, shut up and help me move this aside!”

As soon as Jake opens the door Leon pushes him aside, earning a gesture that was to mean ‘What the fuck?’ Leon ignores him and strides to the glass where his wife was struggling against her impending doom.

“Claire!” He cried and began to hit the glass with his weapon.

“It’s no use! We already tried that. The damn thing is bullet proof.” Jake retorts and kicks the wall.

“Leon try the key card!” Sherry shouts and cups her mouth in horror as she watched her mother figure begin to kick wildly in the water.

He pulled the key card out of his pocket and turned to Sherry his eyes glistening. “It’s for the hotel, it’s not gonna work here...” He began protest.

Sherry runs up to Leon and pulls the card out of his grasp and slides in the slot that was next to the keyboard. It made a clicking sound and just like that the door opened with water gushing out. Leon and the therapist got swept with the current, while Jake held Sherry in place in front of the control panel.

It worked...she couldn't believe it worked. Oh God, but she was happy that it did.

Leon coughed out a few times before getting to his feet and running towards his wife’s limp body. He falls to his knees rolling her over and puts two fingers to her neck. Nothing. He gasps out and he can’t help the moan that escaped his lips.

“No!” He wasn’t going to let her die. Not here and not like this. They still had so much time left with each other. So much love they still had to show. They were supposed be the couple that would grow old together.

She coughs out water with the last breath he breathes into her. He grips behind her neck softly to bring her the much closer to him. “Claire…” He says softly as he brushed her short strands of hair behind her ear.

She’s huffing out as she opens her blue eyes slightly, her vision going in and out of focus. When she’s finally able to see things properly, and when she sees him, she throws her arms around his neck and embraces him. She cries into the crook of his neck and he begins to rub small circles on her back.

“It’s ok baby, I’m here.” He tells her softly and pulls back to lay kiss on her lips. Sherry and Jake look away to give the adults their privacy. The smiles big on their faces.

“Huh. I guess Chris was wrong about you two.” The therapist said as he continued to watch the couple profess their love for one and other. When Chris had contacted him, he was informed that he had his work cut out for him. But seeing them here like this, he couldn't have been more wrong.

Jake scoffs. “Yeah no shit. Like I said the ship sails itself.” He and Sherry drag the younger man out of the room claiming to ‘we’ll go look for clues or something.’ and leaving Leon and Claire to recuperate.

It took them awhile to gather themselves. Leon stands and helps Claire to her feet. As much as they would love to take this breather and ask each other questions, it was not the time or place. He kisses her forehead once more before signaling for the other to return.

“Grab what you can. But not enough to slow you down.” Leon said. He takes off his jacket and places it around Claire's shaking shoulders. She looks up to him and give him a grateful smile.

Things were finally looking in their favor. Perhaps that's why they had all let their guard down. When they made their way towards the entrance of the building only then did Leon realize the little red dots flashing throughout the room. He shouts for the others to run but was too late.

The bombs set off and he soon met with darkness.

Petrified a feeling of fear that has you so frightened that you’re unable to move. That is what Leon Kennedy felt as he laid there disoriented. His head pounded and his ears were ringing from the blast. Where was Claire though? He had to find her. He had to find his wife.

“Claire…!” He struggles out.

He groans out as he lifts his head, his vision going in and out of focus. He hears Jake shout out for Sherry but can’t focus on anything else other than the searing pain in his abdomen. His hand goes straight to the wound and when he lifts it he sees blood. In his panic he examines the wound again and realizes that he’s been impaled.

“Oh no, no, no, NO!” Was Claire’s desperate cry as she fell to her knees next to him. “What do I do? What do I do?” Her hands begin to shake as they hovered over him.

“Shit, that doesn't look good old man.” Jake says as he kneels on the opposite side next to Leon.

“You going to be OK!” Sherry cries trying her best to hide the fact that she is beyond worried. They've all been through dire situation, this was no different. They’ll make it...wouldn't they?

Panic had set itself in the back of Leon’s mind. What if he didn't get through this? What if he would never got to see that beautiful baby his daughter and her boyfriend brought into this world? And what if he never got to see his beautiful wife again. For a moment it was as if his life flashed before his eyes and the tears began well.

He groans in pain as he shifts. “What are you waiting for get out of here!” Words meant for the lot but targeted towards his wife.

Claire couldn't believe the words leaving his mouth. They had been through a lot. They had struggled for what seemed like an eternity. The tears cascade down her face. She looks at him with desperation and cups his face with her shaking hands.

“I’m not leaving you.” She cried out.

He huffs out in pain and closes his eyes tight. Of all times to be stubborn, his wife chose now.

“I’ll go find some help!” the therapist said with as much courage as he could muster. He didn't want to go out there. But these people had continued to feed him with strength he had no idea he had.

Sherry looks at him with gratitude and nods her head. “You might need these.” She hands him two flash grenades. “You got this.” She told him as she patted his shoulder.

“Let’s see what we’re dealing with.” Jake says and helps Leon forward just the slightest to catch sight of the object in his abdomen.

Leon cries out in pain at the sudden movement. “Good news old man.” Jake sets him back down. “You’re gonna be able to walk out of here.” He then positions himself in front of Leon and pulls him to his feet, which cause another cry of pain. “Bad news, you're gonna have to leave that in until we get you professional help.”

Jake was in process of putting Leon's arm around his shoulder when they heard the ugly screeches. “Fuck.” Jake mutters under his breath. He helps Leon to Claire's shoulder and she gives him a baffled look. “Get him out of here Femminator. We’ll hold these fucks back.” He gives a little smirk to Sherry and she smiles back at him.

“Jake's right, we can handle ourselves. You make sure Papa Leo gets to safety.” She goes up to the two and places a small kiss to their cheek. “You both protected me countless of times. Thank you. Now let me return the favor.” She waves to them and returns back to Jake and they walk carefully through the rubble.

“...dammit.” Leon whispered. The tears streaking his face.

“Hey, she’ll be ok. You’ve taught her well.” Her own tears falling down.

They walked away leaving the echoes of the shots being fired. Those two would be ok. She wasn’t that small frighten little girl that they found all those years ago, Sherry was a lot stronger and lot braver now. Plus, she had Jake, and he would never let any harm come to her.

They walked down the long path, Leon occasionally moaning out in pain. She readjusted him a few times when he began to slip from her grasp. Each time he would stumble over his feet, she would tighten her grip around him and tell him “Come on baby, you can make it.”

She wasn’t sure what direction they should be heading but regardless kept moving forward. It was all that they could do.

She looked to his face and saw his feature contorted in pain. “When we get off this island, how about I move all my stuff back.” Her voice wobbled.

Leon turned his head to look at her, his breath coming out in shallow huffs. “I would very much like that.” His own voice croaked. Home felt less homey and lot colder and emptier without Claire.

She gave him a smile and nodded her head vigorously, but the tears still continued to fall. When they make it off this damn island, she was going to show Leon every day how much she loved him.

Claire hears heavy footstep approach them and pulls out her handgun ready to shoot whatever comes their way. Only when she fully sees them does she let her arm go limp and a cry to escape her throat.

“Chris?” She moaned out.

He runs up to them the relief rushing over him. He takes Leon from her grasp and begins to lead them to safety, while ordering his men to clean up the area. She was so mad at her brother for meddling in their affair in beginning, but in this moment she was so beyond happy to see his face.

“Chris!” She continued to cry as she followed him from behind. How did he even get here? She didn’t even once think about contacting him and she wasn’t sure if Leon had as well.

Whatever the case was she was thrilled to have her brother here and now.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A Few Hours Earlier**

The man cackled as he pushed a button on his remote. Things were in place for his grand finale. The timer on the screen began to count down, it was only a matter of time now before he proves himself.

His laughter dies down when hears soft clapping of hands and heels clicking on the ground. He turns and his eyes widen.

This can’t be happening, he timed it perfectly, she shouldn’t be here yet.

“How did you? When did you?” He stumbles over his words.

The woman laughs a bit and smiles brightly at Joe.

“I’ve been here the whole time. Did you not notice till now?” She mocked.

That bitch. There was no way she was here from the beginning. He would have notice something. She’s bluffing he decided.

“L-listen. My plane is working! Once that bastard knows that his sister is missing, he’ll-” A shot rings out and cuts him off. He drops to his knees holding on tightly to his neck, the blood seeping out from his hands.

The woman walks out from the shadows, her heels clicking on the floor. She stops in front of him and removes the sunglasses she had been wearing. She crouches down to his level.

“You have created such a big mess. You've caused needless disasters and caused this one beautiful land to wither and decay. You have shed the blood of the innocent…” She paused to sigh. “And you have caused people that I care about grief.” The women steps back.

Joe continues to gurgle gripping tightly to his wound.

“I would have stopped you earlier had I not been confined.” She gestures to her body.

She walks up to him again and squeezes his cheeks with her gloved hand. “Take comfort in knowing you made this far with your miserable life.” She smiles at him and takes a step back. “Regardless I’m afraid it ends here.” She aims her pistol again and smiles sweetly when his eyes begin to grow in fear.

And she pulls the trigger.

She goes up to Joe’s limp body and stares at her reflection in his eyes. Her own hazel and red staring back at her. She watches with disgust at the blood that leaked on the ground.

“Yet your blood soils the land even more.”

She hears footsteps behind her but doesn't turn. “Dispose of him, and whatever's left.” She turns her gaze to the multiple cages of dog that adorned the wall.

“Affirmative.” A man in tropical shirt puts on a set of gloves and pulls out a bag that had been stored in one of the cabinets in the room.

She smiles at his getup. She told him once that Retirement didn’t look good on him. And she never felt righter than she had in this moment.

“I want to be off this Island before cavalry arrives.” She tells the man and sit herself on the table with a screen that had a countdown.

“Of course.” The man said. He went up to all the cages after putting Joe’s body in a bag and puts a round of bullets into the zombified dogs.

“We have much to do. Like tracking down the rats within our ranks.” Those three men who had given this poor sap a case of samples, will come to regret double crossing her. She would make sure to rid this world of ‘monsters’ such as them.

“Any news from Miss Wong?” She asks pulling out a phone and throwing it to her companion.

“She’s on a trail. She believes that they are heading east of Asia.” He stops to give a laugh. “She has them running out fear.”

“Good. They should fear us.”

Once they were on a chopper and off the island, the man pulls out the phone and makes a call to Chris Redfield. He tells him in short that an incident happened on the small tropical island. “If I were you, I would hurry and give them assistance.” He goes to hang up but is stopped when Chris asks him for his name.

“I have been called many things. But you may call me grim reaper.” and he throws the phone out the chopper.

“Now let’s give our assistance to Miss Wong, shall we?” The young woman looks up to HUNK and smiles brightly, her braided hair blowing slightly in the wind. She looks back down to the island and sighs.

“Survive.” She says softly

It was a rather strange team an ex-USS member/ Mercenary, a super spy and name that will continue to be hated for times to come.

Wesker.

All three looking for atonement of some kind. A redemption, a chance to makes things right. They were fighting for peace that they all worked against in previous lives, they were fighting for a tomorrow.

The irony of them being humanity's last hope.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris watched as his sister continued to cry. It broke his heart to see his sister in such state. It reminded him of that moment they lost their parents. His first tightens and he throws a curse to the man responsible for this. “Everything’s ok now. You’re both safe.” he tells Claire as she continued to watch the medics patch Leon to their best ability.

And they were. This nightmare was finally over. The B.S.A.A had swarmed in firing at all the creature that were left on the island. A lot of lives were lost but whole lot had been saved. It was a mystery how most of the village had been locked away safely.

The villager refused to give away the secret.

Chris and Claire had learned from Leon that Joe was the mastermind behind this attack. Chris had searched the whole damn island for that scum but to no avail. If he was alive. Chris will find him. On that he swears.

Jake and Sherry had made it out just fine, the B.S.A.A had come to their support and helped take out the remaining few lickers. Jake had argued with one of the Jarhead claiming that they could have handle themselves, it was smirk on his face that let others know no harm was done.

When they were on the chopper on the way home, with the sun rising, it was then that Claire and Leon had felt at ease. She smiles down adoringly at her husband who laid her lap on the on the ground. She runs her thumbs across his cheeks and whispers “I love you.”

Leon reaches his hand up to wipe away a stray tear and replies. “I love you too Claire.”

And they kiss.

Chris looks down to his hands and smiles. It was good to see them like this. Though he wasn't sure how he felt about being the one who sent them to that hellish island, he was glad that they at least found themselves there.

“So Evan, the...Man Child? He called and quit.” Chris says in a smile.

They begin to laugh after a moment of silence. Evan that poor kid, had went through a lot for their sake. Claire wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and began to laugh again harder.

“Ah, shit! Don’t make me laugh.” Leon groaned out gripping his side, trying desperately to keep his laughter to a minimum.

Claire looked at him again as the laughter died down “We made it.” She tells him in a whisper.

He looks at her and gives her a smile “I knew we would. I after all had my good luck charm.” He then pulls out the silver charm from his pocket and holds it up to her.

She gives a breathy laugh and kisses his forehead.

Fate had thrown ups and downs their way, and though at times their future looked bleak, together they had conquered their demons. However, fate wasn’t done with these two in the slightest. Something unexpected happened, but this unexpected turn of events was most welcomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're almost there! One more chapter to go!


	5. Epilogue: Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hero, The word that Leon hated so much. The word that he had been dubbed as for so long, was finally a word that he could finally accept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first fanfic to EVER finish! :D
> 
> I told you there was a happy ending! :D This one is shorter than the others, but it is helluva lot fluffier! xD  
> Thank you for sticking with my morbid ass...>_>
> 
> This chapter is my favorite, little Logan is just too cute! 
> 
> I'm not done with this AU!  
> I have a few one shots planed already so stay tuned for those!  
> And of course I have another AU in mind! :>
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

**Epilogue**

**June 2029**

_The boy sighed heavily, looking at the paper in disgust. The class had been assigned to write an essay about who their hero was. He had planned a really, really good one and was proud to present it to the class. However, when he read to his parents, they looked him with a sad expression and asked him to change it. He had reluctantly agreed and wrote up something less exciting and a little more boring._

_“That was great Noah, right class?” The teacher turns to the children and they all begin to clap their hands. “Who’s next Logan? Why don’t you come up and read yours?” The teacher says with a huge smile._

_The boy looks up to her and gives another sigh as he pushes out of his seat and walks with his head hanging low. He looks up to the class with his bright blue eyes and brushes his fingers through his red bangs. “My hero is my uncle Chris.”_

The bell rang signaling that schools has come to an end. Logan walks of the building looking for his mom or dad and frowns when he’s met with Uncle Chris in their place. He was frustrated. He pouted as he got into the backseat of the hummer. After clicking on his seatbelt, he looks down, the tears already welling in his eyes.

“You ok little man?” Chris asked out of concern when he wasn’t greeted with the usual warm hug from his nephew.

“How come I can’t tell anybody about my dad's job?” The boy asked innocently. “My dad has the coolest job out of everyone in school, and I can’t even tell them how cool he is!” Logan huffs and crosses his arms over his chest in a pout.

He was too damn cute. He reminded Chris of a younger Claire. “Your dad does important work pal.” He looks back at Logan through the mirror. “I’m sure your father would appreciate the praise little man.” Chris couldn't help the big smile that played on his face. He sighs when the boy turns to look out the window dejectedly. “Look, the reason it must be kept a secret, is because your father is doing his best to keep you and your mother safe. You know from the bad people he has to fight.” The little boy looks back to him.

Logan contemplates this. Was that really true? Was he really keeping them safe? Was that why they made him change it? He remembers the disagreement they had with each other. It was when he presented them with his first draft.

_“So?” The boy had asked eagerly. He worked for hours making sure everything was perfect. And he thought it was, until he saw them hesitate._

_“That’s great sweetie…” His mommy had said in a wide smile, but he could tell that she was holding back, he just didn’t understand why._

_“Daddy?” He asked unsure when he saw his father sigh and push up his glasses. Did he hate it? He worked really hard on it. He remembered all the stories that his dad and mom had told him. About all the big monster he had taken out and how he rescued the president's daughter. He remembered it all, and wrote it all down._

_“It’s wonderful son.” Leon told him. He got up from the couch and crouched in front of him gripping his hands in his own. He pulls out the paper from Logan’s grasp. “I'm sorry.” He says softly. “you can’t read this in front of the class bud.”_

He didn't understand then. He thought his parents cruel and shouted some nonsense like _“I didn’t want to write about you anyways! Uncle Chris is much cooler!”_ He remembered the hurt look in his dads’ eyes and remembered the scolding his mother gave him that night.

Maybe he had been too rash. Maybe his dad had been keeping them safe all along.

“Oh my god! What smells so good!” Claire exclaimed as she made her way to Jill who was making dinner. She wraps her arm around the women and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, I’ll be honest I’m cheating here, it’s frozen lasagna!” Jill laughed.

“Oh, my favorite!” Claire laughed along.

She makes an ‘oof’ sound when Logan runs up to her and wraps his tiny arms around her waist.

She smiles brightly and bends to pick him up and attacks him with kisses that has him giggling uncontrollably. He calls out for Uncle Chris to help, but the man shakes his head ‘no’ and watches on in amusement. When even Aunt Jill and Chloe refuse to give him any help he gives up in defeat.

“How was your day my love.” She asks as she sets him down to his feet.

“Awesome! Uncle Chris, Chloe and I played cops and robbers! I was the cop!” He told her proudly and she looks up to her brother with a amused look. “...I was pretending to be dad.” He says bashfully, and she smiles warmly at that.

“Speaking of your father, he's coming home tonight and I thought we all go out a get Pizza!” His eyes begin to brighten at the news. “And maybe go see that movie you wanted to see so badly.” She jabs her finger to his side playfully causing him to giggle.

Work had been keeping them both rather busy. They felt horrible for not spending as much time as they wanted with Logan. But the boy never complained, despite how much he wanted to.

“Let's go pick up dad!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon looks over to the poor kid. Markus Williams a ‘rookie’ who was no younger than Leon had been when he started out, was sulking for not performing at his best.

“Don't let it get to you kid. This was your first real mission; you still have plenty more to prove yourself.” He smacks the young man's back in reassurance.

“Yeah but Mr. Kennedy, you took on a whole village, by yourself mind you! I couldn't even give much assistance.” Markus pouted.

Leon laughs. “First of all, the situation was completely different. Second of all, drop the whole ‘Mr. Kennedy’ crap. Jesus kid, I already feel my age I don't need you to add on.”

“Regardless, Mr.-I mean sir” Leon wince at that. Sir wasn't any better. “I look forward working with you.” Markus scans the crowd and smiles widely when his eyes fall on the person he was looking for. “Need a ride sir?” He points his head to his family.

It was the little figure who was racing towards Leon that made him decline. “Sorry kid, I have a limousine.”

“Daddy!” Logan screamed at the top of his lungs. The young boy not caring who heard.

“Ah! There's my little man!” Leon catches his son in his arms and spins.

“Did you catch all the bad guys?” Logan ask putting his little hands on Leon's face.

“You know it!” Leon picks up his duffel bag and walks up to his wife with their son in his arms.

“Hey” he says huskily. He shifts Logan a bit in leans in to give her a kiss.

“Hey yourself” she tells him softly and pulls him down for another peck on the lips.

“Ew, gross!” Logan teases making them laugh.

But he didn't mind in the slightest. He was happy as long as his parents were happy.

They laid in the grass staring up at the starry sky. Leon told his son many stories on how he use to come out here to try and count them all. The boy had rolled his eyes at him stating _“You can’t count them all dad! There’s like a gazillion bajillion of them!”_ Leon smiles at the memory. He looks at his son, and wave of pride washes through him.

“I get it now.” Logan says sitting up and looking him in the eyes. A smile spreading on his little round face.

“Get what?” Leon asked stumped.

“Why your job has to be a secret.” he rolls his eyes as if to say ‘duh’. Leon holds back his snort, Logan, everyday reminded him so much of Claire.

“You do?” he asked, the smile still playing on his face. The young boy nods.

“Alright boys’ let’s go have some fun!” Claire called out. She had been getting ready for a little over thirty minutes. Something that Leon would tease her for later.

“Come on dad! Mom’s going to beat us to the car!” Logan begins to help his old man up and Leon couldn't help the laughter that escaped him. The boy takes off as soon as Leon is on his feet but stops mid-way to turn and look at him. “Hey dad.” His says softly.

“Thank you.” that stops Leon in his track.

“For what?” Leon asked a bit puzzled.

“For being my hero.” Logan gives him a big toothy smile and turns to run towards the car.

The word that Leon hated so much. The word that he had been dubbed as for so long, was finally a word that he could finally accept.

He looked to his beautiful family and the beautiful smiles adorned on their faces.

Claire walks up to her husband and wraps her arms around his neck to bring him down for a kiss. “I was going to wait till we got back to tell you.” She says and pulls away but grabs his hand and put it to her tummy. “I'm pregnant.” and he sees the joy in her eyes and knows she sees his.

He was fortunate alright, to have such an amazing, beautiful and loving family. He would not trade this for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! <3


End file.
